Database Develop

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

[Q] Things I want to know about flashing and more!

A lot of things are never explained. Its really easy to just flash a ROM but there is a lot more to the process that could help.
I have soo many questions its ridiculous.. Why not ask them all at once? Im not dumb, I would like to see someone find complete information on any of these things..
1. Nobody ever explained what we can do with Clockwork Recovery, I know that I can restore previous ROMS with it but what else? Could I easily just flash back to my original 2.1 out of the box modded phone ROM even though I am on 2.2 now?
2. When I flash these ROMS, should I be doing like a format of the internal SD card to make it all fresh and what not?
3. What about App2SD? Thought sounded way cool when I first heard about it. How can I get that working? Couldn't I just use that and never have to backup my apps between ROMS anymore? Maybe I don't get it but theres no info on it either.
4. What is Nandroid? Sounds cool.
5. What would be the best way to back everything up between flashes?
At the moment, I just use TB to back up my important apps and then restore them + data afterwards. And for contacts and stuff I just uses Google sync, easy enough. It seems pointless to back up though because the Titanium Backup folder still remains after flashing, why do things still remain? Is this a good thing?
6. What the heck is kernel swapping and more specifically, what does it do? I have a general idea what a kernel is but feel free to explain!
7. Anything else about the finesses of flashing would be awesome to read about. This is all that comes to mind but yeah, feel free to really lay on the details.
I don't really care how ridiculous this seems, its a forum. More specifically, the Q&A section. Any help would be awesome!
[Edit] Ha, go figure. No replies. Was worth a try.

Those are all very good questions.
I agree with you that so far there is not a good central repository of information to explain all this that I know of.
I recently flashed to Cognition 9.1 after reading bajillions of threads to try and piece together the proper procedure. You see people making suggestions left and right, but half the time they conflict with each other, and the other half are stated in terms that only someone that already knows how to do it would understand.
There are two wikis and a couple guides out there with good information, but they tend to be grander in scale. "How to make your Captivate take over the world" articles are great and useful. But it's very difficult to find information on the small specific bits contained in those guides.
To understand all those little bits requires lots of googling and taking notes. I can't tell you how many e-mails I've sent myself from work containing little snippets of "do this", "try this", "how to..." that I've slowly come across after scouring these forums for hours on end.
That's not to say I don't appreciate all the info given from the users here. I'm just saying it'll be nice when all that knowledge gets pooled into one central location like one of the wikis rather than scattered sentence by sentence amid thousands of pages of posts.
And the next response to me from some snarky person will undoubtedly be "Well if you want the wiki to have that info then do it yourself!". My response then would be, "I don't know that information which is why I'm saying it would be nice if..."
The next snarky response to expect would be "If you want to know stuff then search the forums you newb. That's how *I* did it!" And my response to that would be, "And wouldn't you have been incredibly overjoyed to have NOT spent hours of your free time trying to piece together knowledge out there? And why the heck didn't you then post a straight-forward guide of simple steps on how to do it. And why the heck aren't you being a good person and helping me out now rather than being snarky and telling me to figure it out myself??"
So here's my answers to your questions which won't be very good but maybe if enough of us clueless people discuss this kind of stuff we can start to hash out more specifics.
1. Clockwork Recovery? I really don't know. I've read so many cryptic discussions about Clockwork that I can't tell you what it does. I know it can be used in flashing ROMs, but in following the Cognition line it's easier to use the Odin One Click method.
The name of it however makes it seem like its purpose is to recover from something to something. I'd assume that means you can recover our phone to stock if we have problems, but I bet that assumption is wrong.
2. Flash internal SD when updating ROM? Funny story that... I found this thread because I was doing a search on that very thing. I have seen mentioned in a couple places people saying you should do it. However in most "How to flash a ROM" discussions I've read they don't have formatting the internal SD as part of the scenario. And nowhere (yet..) can I find instruction on how to do it properly. I'm assuming I shouldn't just hook it up in USB mode to my computer and having my computer run a format on it. So I won't.
I know that the Odin tool does a "Master Clear" which I assumed would wipe the internal SD. But when I look at my internal SD it still has all sorts of stuff on it from before still. So evidently to "Master Clear", which is suggested in many "How to flash a ROM" guides, doesn't format the internal SD but "clears" some other mystical information.
3. App2SD. Well when I look up App2SD at Appbrain the description says, "helps you to move apps to either external or internal storage thru' the system Settings." Ok... great... So if I have apps installed (which default to internal SD) then I should be able to run this to move those apps to my external SD.
What happens when I flash a new ROM though like you said? The apps are on my external SD, but can I instantly use the apps on the fresh ROM or do I have to use App2SD again to move them to internal SD or what?
4. Nandroid! It does sound cool doesn't it? In most "How to flash ROM" guides and just about every other guide people say "Make sure to make a Nandroid backup before proceeding". Ok, doing a search on Nandroid I find this in the G1 forums:
"* What is Nandroid Backup v2.0?
Nandroid Backup is a set of tools and a script that will enable anyone who has root on their G1 and has the engineering/dev spl bootloader [1] (or has a dev phone) + a recovery image with busybox and adbd running as root [2] to make full system backups. These can then be restored using the fastboot [3] commandline tool and your phone in SPL/bootloader mode (hold camera + power)."
Uh.. say what? Ok I get what its end result is. It backs up my system. But what's this engineering/dev spl bootloader? I remember from WinMo that a bootloader booted the phone into a state where you could load a ROM onto it. Doesn't seem to fit exactly in this context.
I don't think I have a dev phone and I know I don't have any sort of recovery image. Busybox I recognize because Titanium Backup makes you install it. Don't know what it is though. And "adbd" has to do with running the Android developer kit or terminal or something which allows you to interact directly with Android on your phone I think. I couldn't get it to work on my computer so haven't been able to play with it.
So yeah, when everyone one says "Make a Nandroid backup" like it's the most simple thing in the world that every newborn baby is born with instant knowledge of doing... I must be missing something...
5. Backup between flashes. Well, from all the discussions I've read it sounds like you're supposed to use Clockwork Recovery or Nandroid or maybe both. Possibly you're also supposed to hunt down an ostrich and ride it to your local gas station to pick up a pack of bubble gum and donate it to your local charity of choice in order to get it to work.
Titanium Backup appears to backup your Apps so you can then install them again (I wonder if using App2SD affects that?). You can also back up system stuff, but everyone says not to do that. I assume that means it backs up various system files that would just mess up your new ROM if you restored them.
6. Kernel swapping. I know in general computing terms a Kernel is the very core of an operating system. Since there's swapping going on I assume there are different versions of the Android kernel out there and each one must have something different about them or there wouldn't be any swapping going on. As to what those differences are I couldn't tell you. Personally I'm going to stick with premade bundles like Cognition. That way I don't have to worry about kernel swapping and sacrificing chickens since some awesome genius (like DesignGears) has already done all that. Minus the chicken sacrifice possibly.
7. Flashing finesse. Like I said I've recently flashed from stock to Cognition 9.1 and everything seems to work (except my battery seems to be draining faster, even though I flashed from 100% charge, and did "Master Clear". So next step will be clearing the battery stat file which is another thing I need to research and doing another full charging cycle to see if that helps).
I scoured the forums before doing the flash looking for the proper steps and I finally came upon a post from someone that actually listed each step very clearly on how to do it properly. Huzzah!
Here's what KewlRobD posted:
"- I was running 2.1.7 so I disabled voodoo lagfix
- I powered off my phone and waited for it to reach 100% battery
- I removed my SIM card
- I then used ODIN to flash back to JF6
- I then used ODIN to Master Clear
- I then used ODIN to flash Beta9
- I then used ODIN to Master Clear again.
- I then put my SIM back into my phone and began customizing"
How many hours did I spend reading thread after thread to slowly piece parts of this together into some confused possible instruction list?? Well here you go, KewlRobD was very awesome and actually listed very clearly the steps to take.
The disabling lagfix part he mentions didn't apply since I was on stock and never applied a lagfix. However this is something else I'll have to research if I decide to flash to a new ROM because all "How to..." guides tell you to disable lagfix. Because again, all newborns pop out of the womb with instant knowledge on the disabling of the lagfixes.
Now the only thing he didn't mention was formatting the internal SD, nor did he mention anything about recalibrating the battery, clearing the battery stats file, bump charging etc. (besides saying to charge to 100% first)
So I'm still searching for the formatting of the internal SD information, and I remember reading somewhere about clearing the battery. I think I actually e-mailed it to myself. Yep, here's what Demented71 says about clearing the battery:
"As far as the battery, I would:
Charge your phone while it's on to 100%
Turn it off and charge to 100%
Turn it on and let it fully boot and turn it off again, charging to 100%
Then, when you unplug it, put it into recovery mode first, use CWR (the green recovery) to 'wipe battery stats' in it's advanced menu.
Then use your phone completely until it won't turn on, trying not to connect it via USB or wall charger.
When charging it up after that for the first time, try and leave it off and charge it to 100%, but let it sit for a few hours past 100%, and then use it normally. It's best to do this when your sleeping if you don't need your phone during that time. Another option is to buy the 2x battery+charger from eBay. Works great to always have a full battery."
Again, very helpful post with nice clear instructions instead of "Ur battery sux? Then reset it... duh!" However, there's one spot in there where he says to use CWR. I can only assume that means Clockwork Recovery. KHAAAAAAAAAN!! So in the end I need to do more research to figure out what exactly CWR is and how it works. *sigh*

Clockwork Recovery is a very useful tool. With it you can do many system type things before the os proper (android) is loaded.
You can install "mods" which are modifications to the system, such as zmod, or replacing your battery icon. They are given to you in zip files that have the instructions in place as scripts and such that install the mod for you. No creeping around your internal file system wondering what goes where and I hope I get it right.
You can install roms the same way.
A nandroid back up is the backup (for us) that clockwork recovery provides. If you do a rom manager or clockwork backup, you just did a nandroid backup. It lets you rollback to a point of your chosing as long as you can root your phone and install rom manager.
rom manager downloads the clockwork recovery app to your phone. As long as it's the most recent version you can move the update.zip it puts on your phone to your computer, and then you can put it on your sdcard anytime you want. Once it's there, reboot into recovery, select reinstall packages, and you should be in the clockwork recovery program.
From there you can create or restore a backup, install a mod, or rom from sdcard and quite a few utiliy scripts like formating your sd, removing battery stats, and the like. Careful. Some of this will wipe your data and leave you without apps and such. Like new.
Titanium Backup is your friend. A nandroid backup is a fallback spot, or a relatively easy way to switch back and forth between roms, sort of. If you flash a new rom you don't want to do that. Titanium Backup allows you to backup all your apps and thier data. If you pay for it, and you'll want to, it allows you to do it all as a batch operation, instead of one app at a time.
While it's beyond my time constraint's AND expertise level to answer all your questions, I hope these helped some?
Edit: Before messing with this it's a good idea to be sure you can do the button combinations to get into recovery and/or download modes. DesignGears has a thread in development that explains this and offers a fix if you can't do it. Will help keep/get you out of reboot loops if something goes fubar.
Recovery: From power off, hold both volume buttons down and push power. Hold all three until you see the at&t white screen. Hold for a second or so then release the power button while still holding the volumes. You should boot into recover there. Blue text with some choices. Move with volume up and down, choose with power.
Download: From power off, hold both volume buttons and plug in your usb cable. You should get a big yellow graphic with "Don't turn target off." That's download mode. (If you are planning to use odin or odin one click then have that program running on your computer when you do this.
(Just in case ya didn't know. Don't mean to talk down to anyone.)

Awesome response, Sulphur4724. Thank you very much.
I had no clue Clockwork Recovery was capable of doing so much stuff. I'll definitely have to check it out now.
And that answers our question on how to format the internal SD. Now we just need to find out under what circumstances it's a good idea to do so.
Along the same lines I've also heard people mentioning repartitioning the SD. I'm assuming that's only to do with the various lag fixes out there?
And thanks for clearing up the Nandroid inquiry. I always thought when people said "Make a Nandroid backup..." that they were referring to a program called Nandroid. No wonder I couldn't find an app called that!
So to simplify a little:
1. What can I do with Clockword Recovery (CWR)?
CWR backs up your ROM to an update.zip file that you can store elsewhere in case you want to restore your ROM to saved state. It also allows you to install modifications to Android such as a new battery icon. And finally, it allows you to run system utilities such as formatting the SDCard, or clearing the battery stats. CWR also works in conjunction with an App called "Rom Manager" to perform some operations.
2. Should I format the internal SD when installing new ROMs?
Not sure yet. But in order to actually DO the formatting you would use Clockwork Recovery.
3. What is App2SD and how do I use it?
Not sure yet. The description sounds simple. Move apps to the external SD card. But earching the interwebs for information is giving descriptions involving repartitioning the system into 2 partitions, flashing things, running adb commands, etc. Maybe all that information is old and it's now a simple process? We need more info.
4. What is Nandroid and how do I do it?
Nandroid is basically backing up your ROM so you can use it to restore later. To do this you use Clockwork Recovery. See question 1.
5. What's the best way to back up everything between flashing ROMs?
Using Rom Manager and Clockwork Recovery you can make a backup (Nandroid) of your current ROM. See questions 1 and 4.
In order to back up applications you will want to use an app called Titanium Backup (often referred to as TiBu). With TiBu you can make backup copies of any apps you want. Along with that you can tell it to back up any data for those apps (which would be game saves, app settings, etc.). You can also back up system files and data, but this can often lead to ROM issues if you replace a new ROMs files with old backup files so do your research and be careful.
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Besides the formatting internal SD and App2SD questions, does that all sound right so far?
Does anyone know if all this is universal Android stuff, or if it only pertains to the Captivate?
By the way, thanks for asking these questions, Shival!

And that answers our question on how to format the internal SD. Now we just need to find out under what circumstances it's a good idea to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also format the SD card by settings/sdcard and phone storage.
Along the same lines I've also heard people mentioning repartitioning the SD. I'm assuming that's only to do with the various lag fixes out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lagfixes will take care of themselves. I'm not real sure how this works, tho I always do it and it ain't hosed me yet. From my days as a computer geek I seem to remember that when you make a partition you should make the blocks, where stuff actually gets written, as small as possible. When a file is written to a file system it is written to these blocks. On the last one it uses, if it doesn't fill it up that space is wasted. So smaller blocks = smaller waste = more free space. Not really expert about this (hell, about any of this) so someone else may be able to clarify better, but it's workin' for me so far.
And thanks for clearing up the Nandroid inquiry. I always thought when people said "Make a Nandroid backup..." that they were referring to a program called Nandroid. No wonder I couldn't find an app called that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent a while lookin' for it too.
CWR backs up your ROM to an update.zip file that you can store elsewhere in case you want to restore your ROM to saved state
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An update.zip is a stored mod or rom before it's applied to your phone. Made by the developer with install scripts and such to automate the process. The actual backups you can find and inspect under clockworkmod/backup on your sdcard once you've run a backup. They are saved as img files that can be written back to your phone if you have an issue you can't recover from using cwm. But they are NOT the update.zip files. Those are the android format for installing stuff from recovery.
2. Should I format the internal SD when installing new ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The jury is out on this. Some guys swear by it, some guys say "nah." What it will do is wipe all YOUR data and stuff off the phone, leaving it with just the OS ROM as created by the dev. cwm can do it, or you can do it from settings/sdcard and phone storage.
3. What is App2SD and how do I use it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most phones have a finite amount of storage that the system can use. Most of them have a relatively small amount actually. As cappy owners we have a whopping 2 gb of that storage. But the other guys usually have considerably less. Applications get written to that space and it quickly runs out on other platforms. so app2sd moves apps to the external sd. Or the internal for us, since our total storage is 20 gb. (i think.) The unreserved space is formatted by the phone to look like an external SD card to the phone. anyway, it's not as big an issue for us as 2gb is a LOT of space that will take a while to fill up.
You can also back up system files and data, but this can often lead to ROM issues if you replace a new ROMs files with old backup files so do your research and be careful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For backups this is fine. If you flash a new rom do NOT restore system settings from an older backup. It will restore stuff that may not work with what your flashing and will gum it all up but good. FC hell. You are pretty safe restoring apps+data as that just restores the apps data itself and doesn't overwrite any system files.
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Does anyone know if all this is universal Android stuff, or if it only pertains to the Captivate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dunno! This is my first android phone!

Sulphur4724 said:
You can also format the SD card by settings/sdcard and phone storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah cool, thanks!
From my days as a computer geek I seem to remember that when you make a partition you should make the blocks, where stuff actually gets written, as small as possible. When a file is written to a file system it is written to these blocks. On the last one it uses, if it doesn't fill it up that space is wasted. So smaller blocks = smaller waste = more free space. Not really expert about this (hell, about any of this) so someone else may be able to clarify better, but it's workin' for me so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah if I remember correctly small blocks mean less space wasted, but it also means more I/O which slows performance. And bigger blocks mean more potentially wasted space but faster performance since there is less I/O going on because you're writing bigger amounts of data at once rather than a bunch of tiny writes. In today's computers where space is cheap you want to make bigger blocks to enhance performance. Not sure what's suggested for NAND. And my memory could be faulty on all that, but that's what I remember from back in the day of tiny hard-drives.
An update.zip is a stored mod or rom before it's applied to your phone. Made by the developer with install scripts and such to automate the process. The actual backups you can find and inspect under clockworkmod/backup on your sdcard once you've run a backup. They are saved as img files that can be written back to your phone if you have an issue you can't recover from using cwm. But they are NOT the update.zip files. Those are the android format for installing stuff from recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh, ok. So update.zip is literally the file Android uses to make updates with whether it's a mod or ROM. The backed up ROM then will be a .img file?

Yeah if I remember correctly small blocks mean less space wasted, but it also means more I/O which slows performance. And bigger blocks mean more potentially wasted space but faster performance since there is less I/O going on because you're writing bigger amounts of data at once rather than a bunch of tiny writes. In today's computers where space is cheap you want to make bigger blocks to enhance performance. Not sure what's suggested for NAND. And my memory could be faulty on all that, but that's what I remember from back in the day of tiny hard-drives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never thought of it like that, touche'. Now I gotta try changing sizes.
Ahhh, ok. So update.zip is literally the file Android uses to make updates with whether it's a mod or ROM. The backed up ROM then will be a .img file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roger that. Now ya got it.

WOW!
This thread RULES! Sulphur4724 and sschrupp, many thanks, I learned a lot. If I have the time this weekend I'll try to edit this information into a backup / memory FAQ, if you think that would be useful.
sschrupp check out this guide if you haven't seen it before, it's pretty idiot proof; I had no trouble and I am an android n00b.
edit: nevermind the forum isn't letting me post links because I'm new here. It's a great guide though, so if you want, go to the website android police, and under the guides tab, read the guide called "complete guide how to fully back up and restore your android phone using nandroid backup and clockworkmod rom manager"

Glad I could help. I'd let this stand a few days and see if there are any corrections. I'm going by what I know which may or may not be 100% correct. I came to this phone from a Blackberry. Everything I'm trying to pass on I learned from reading the cognition thread and branching from there. Yes. All of it! Even before the 4k post cleansing it got a while back.
But see I can't code, and I wanna participate. So I'm doing what I can to be part of this community and if it takes some weight off the guys that DO code... well that's full of win.
/shrug

Sulphur4724 said:
But see I can't code, and I wanna participate. So I'm doing what I can to be part of this community and if it takes some weight off the guys that DO code... well that's full of win.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's how I see it too. Also I almost always buy the pay version of apps that really help me that independent devs here on XDA write.

Why does ROM manager run after startup? Is it okay if I disable this through autostarts? I don't run pre-scheduled backups so I can't think of any reason for it to be running in the background all of the time.

This thread is epic!
So worth it =]
I really hate that the phones storage is called internal SD, I get soo confused reading thing that say "do something to the SD" I am like, WHICH ONE!? and then I explode.
I tried to install a lagfix on a Cognition ROM once, it failed. Did it right after flashing, created the file system then I tried to do the lagfix and it failed. I never tried again. Don't know if its worth it anyways.
Battery has been a super drain! It is incredibly hard for me, a light user who is mildly OC, to let the battery get below 80% and yet, within ten minutes off the charger it starts going down lol. I keep it clean and everything, nothing is running and I always disable background data. I probably do need to redo the battery bin file. Wish I had time, either at work or I am in class.
Phone runs fine I think so I guess I'll just forget formating the internal SD. Maybe I'll try it someday though. I'd imagine the device would clog up eventually.
I just wish I was smart enough to make use of some of the more advanced facets of Android.
I guess there are just too many devices and technology moves so fast that its almost impossible to make a guide. Searching for the info is sort of fun and I do try.
I love it when you are searching for something specific but you learn so much more along the way and I, usually forget what I was searching for in the first place.
This CyanogenMod thing sounds cool. I want it, when its finished, I know barely anything about it though.
I cannot keep up at all with the Cognition releases. I barely know what the changelogs are even talking about when I do lol.
Do our phones work more efficiently with a linux distribution? I just use my Windows Vista partition mainly but I have Ubuntu. Screw windows 7, I am sticking with Vista lol. I'd imagine it would be super hard to find the same tools we use to mod our phones via windows, for Linux.

Komodo Rogue said:
Why does ROM manager run after startup? Is it okay if I disable this through autostarts? I don't run pre-scheduled backups so I can't think of any reason for it to be running in the background all of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful in your thinking. Just because an app is loaded in memory does not mean it is actually doing anything. This is not windows with hundreds of processes going on. Android actually prefers to have things in memory to make accessing them faster and consuming LESS battery power as a result of not having to load them every time you want to access them. Each activity is assigned a number corresponding to its priority which determines what gets kicked out when you want to load something that is not already present and more memory is needed than what is available.
You can see this in action by utilizing a system monitor that tracks cpu activity for each process. Most apps that are in memory use ZERO cpu time unless/until you open them. For the ones that do, such as an email app, they will only use cpu time when retrieving messages which takes little energy. If you endlessly kill these with a task manager, you willuse MORE battery as a result of these having to be reloaded by the os instead of accessing them from ram, not to mention the battery drain caused by the task killer constantly polling to see what is in memory.
Sent telepathically using vulcan mind meld app.

newter55 said:
Be careful in your thinking. Just because an app is loaded in memory does not mean it is actually doing anything. This is not windows with hundreds of processes going on. Android actually prefers to have things in memory to make accessing them faster and consuming LESS battery power as a result of not having to load them every time you want to access them. Each activity is assigned a number corresponding to its priority which determines what gets kicked out when you want to load something that is not already present and more memory is needed than what is available.
You can see this in action by utilizing a system monitor that tracks cpu activity for each process. Most apps that are in memory use ZERO cpu time unless/until you open them. For the ones that do, such as an email app, they will only use cpu time when retrieving messages which takes little energy. If you endlessly kill these with a task manager, you willuse MORE battery as a result of these having to be reloaded by the os instead of accessing them from ram, not to mention the battery drain caused by the task killer constantly polling to see what is in memory.
Sent telepathically using vulcan mind meld app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response, that's helpful information to know. I don't use a task killer but I DO have quite a bit of apps disabled at boot through the app "autostarts" that I am going to turn back on now. Quickoffice comes to mind as an example; I use that maybe two or three times a week so I didn't see why I should have it "running" all of the time, but now I'm going to re-enable it.
Nevertheless, the only time I see myself using ROM Manager is before a system flash... and sadly if you read the thread I wrote about flashing to a new ROM, it turns out I may NEVER be flashing a new ROM. So in THIS case, shouldn't I just disable it from startup?

I tried to install a lagfix on a Cognition ROM once, it failed. Did it right after flashing, created the file system then I tried to do the lagfix and it failed. I never tried again. Don't know if its worth it anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer to this is... sometimes. The phone can get pretty laggy if there are a lot of os writes and reads. A lagfix helps out with this. It depends on your patience and how fast/cool you want to be. (I do it just for the geek factor! RAWR!)
Battery has been a super drain! It is incredibly hard for me, a light user who is mildly OC, to let the battery get below 80% and yet, within ten minutes off the charger it starts going down lol. I keep it clean and everything, nothing is running and I always disable background data. I probably do need to redo the battery bin file. Wish I had time, either at work or I am in class.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried every thing I could find/read/think of and my battery life still sux. Why? It's not a phone, it's an ENTERTAINMENT CENTER! Seriously, the Amoled screen on this puppy is pretty as hell but it's also hell on a battery. When it's open, it's eating energy as fast as it can put it away. My philosophy after hours and hours of trying to figure this out is this: Enjoy the phone and keep a charger handy. Try this tho, next time you flash something rom wise pull your sim card. DG says that when the modem.bin file flashes with it in it can cause it to keep the modem open all the time causing massive battery drain. I tried this last flash and it does seem to make a difference. /shrug
Phone runs fine I think so I guess I'll just forget formating the internal SD. Maybe I'll try it someday though. I'd imagine the device would clog up eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't done a master clear or format in several flashes and I've had no ill effects. I can imagine a point down the road where issues may ensue, but not recently.
I just wish I was smart enough to make use of some of the more advanced facets of Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't we all!
I guess there are just too many devices and technology moves so fast that its almost impossible to make a guide. Searching for the info is sort of fun and I do try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some guys trying, they just aren't advertising well!
This CyanogenMod thing sounds cool. I want it, when its finished, I know barely anything about it though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDE is about as close to CyanogenMod as we have right now. Want a sneak peak? There's your huckleberry.
Do our phones work more efficiently with a linux distribution? I just use my Windows Vista partition mainly but I have Ubuntu. Screw windows 7, I am sticking with Vista lol. I'd imagine it would be super hard to find the same tools we use to mod our phones via windows, for Linux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are coding or plan on coding i'd say yes. If not? nah. winders works just fine. Or as fine as it ever works.

[Q] New to Droid need help with captivate, sick of waiting for 2.2...need advice!

Hello everyone,
I have recently upgraded from Windows mobile (tilt2) to Samsung Captivate (att)
I am pretty upset that they are taking forever to release the update and I would like to install a custom rom with Froyo, and without the bloatware!
So my questions are: (ive tried to do a ton of research so far so but am confused with this cant get definite answers)
I know it comes down to preference, but I would like to know which Rom is the most stable, best battery life, and good performance out of all the roms. I was considering the Firefly or the andromeda, or cognition...but maybe a better option? Which would be best for me, im not big into themes, just want best reliability, battery life is a huge thing for me as well. So which is best for me?
Also, I am confused with all these modem versions, my 3g currently is slow as ish on my 2.1 stock rom download speed is sad in my area and i get atlest 3-4 bars.
I rarely break 200kbps. meanwhile i see ppl getting 1mbps speed with their iphone sitting right next to me!!! So speed is important for me too. (internet and OS)
My last concern is will it be possible to do a complete backup of my current stock rom just incase i need to revert for warranty purposes?
I read the guide to upgrade the roms, watched the videos, nd plan to do it again b4 i attempt then follow directions very very carefully as i do it....
I was ok with flashing WinMo roms...but android is very different and it seems alot more confusing to me (maybe because i am new to it)
Im scared to brick my beautiful new phone...i love it so much.
but i feel i am held back with 2.1...no flash, crappy gps, and the custom roms im seeing are amazing looking!!!
So please help me with answers to my couple questions...
basically best rom for reliablilty, battery life, performance with best modem too.
Least amount of bugs, and theme isnt too big for me. the other things much more important!
And if im able to revert to stock no problem for warranty (if necessary)
so far my phone is AWESOME! but 2.2 is way better with flash and better gps.
Sorry for long post...THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS!!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!
(u guys have dozens of versions of Froyo for captivate, and ATT cant even put out one! go figure!)

Well stock is in my 4shared...link in my sig. As for ROMs it always varies. Flash any you want. Only thing you need to check is if your 3 button recovery works. If it does your golden and flash away.
Sorry i am on my phone and its after 2am..... so no links

If you have really researched you would know there is no definitive answer to your question. Each rom has the chance to react differently between phones. Asking which rom is the best depends on YOUR phone and the combination of kernel/modem vary as well. Read up on how to properly installation rom. Read how to recover your phone from a bootloop/semi brick state. Readhow to use odin to flash to stock if you get that soft brick. Also learn how to make a jig if all else fails. Once all that is in placestart flashing roms to see which one is best for your phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

i knew i was gonna get that answer lol....
I have read the guide...i plan on reading again and again...
its not easy stuff for a noob...
and i am very computer literate.
But anyway...I have a Captivate, and i was watching rom reviews i remember josh saying that the firefly was good for day to day use.and that is what i would like.
I was just hoping for ur guys opinions. what worked best for u.
I saw alot of ppl were sayin the andromeda was saying it was a favorite among alot of people, great battery life too...
so i hope i can get some good answers from everyone...i would like to flash once with a great rom, and just chill wit it...
I did do research. alot of research. but i guess u must have learned everything over a period of months...but for me im tryin to cram everything i learned so far in 2-3 days.
i wanna flash but i dont want to mess anything up.
seems like it is not likely to hard brick the phone....and usually it can be recovered no problem...
i will continue my research, i was just hoping to get answers from much more experienced people than me...
I have a ATT Samsung Captivate (us version)
Which would the best rom for me to start with. (battery life, performance, and reliability/least bugs) are 3 most important things to me.
Themes are not as important to me.
Im goin to lay down. hopefully get some good answers when i wake up!
Keep in mind guys, IM BRAND NEW HERE. I APPRECIATE EVERYONES BRILLIANT MINDS!
and i appreciate ur hospitality in advance!
thanks guys!

It takes more than a couple days of reading to get a understanding on how all of this works on the Captivate.There really isn't any crash course to take to accomplish what you want.Time is your friend..not your enemy on this..The more time you take..the more information you have before you.
Each phone (this includes yours) reacts differently to all the various themes..kernels..modems..and roms. Each person that does this..needs to find the best combination that will give them what they are hoping to achieve...ie: looks..speed..stability..battery life..download speed..gps..ect...
What you have to do..is find a rom you are interested in..read the thread from start to current..and then decide if what is being said about it will match your wants & needs.Then find out what modem works best on your phone ... in your area... to give you the best signal reception.. download speeds..voice clarity..and battery life. Same for the kernels..which one will work properly with the modem..that gives you good stable performance without changing your download speed..Both must work in conjunction with each other.
Everyone has favorites..on each item..and just because a certain combination works superbly for my phone..doesn't mean it will work for you..The beauty of Android..is you have the chance to change each part to make your phone perform as you want it..You have a multitude of choices...so..where to begin...
For a starting point..here is what I would do..Ensure your phone has the 3 button recovery..If it does..download the correct Odin..If it doesn't..download the Odin with the 3 button recovery fix in it..Download and install the correct drivers for your phone..Read the entire Odin threads for each..from start to finish..and memorize the proper sequence of how to properly flash back to stock..Download the update.zip file to your PC..as well as the 1 click root program..this way you have both...the update.zip file gives you root very easily..and having that file will save you a lot of time..and the 1 click root/un-root if you need to return to 100% stock for some reason..It's a real good idea to learn how to do all of this before you flash any custom rom..Then you can start prepairing to change your phone..flying blind on doing this can lead to messing up your phone..so..be prepared to invest a lot of time reading everything you can first..
Make several folders on your pc/mac that will contain different roms...theme...kernels...modems..gps tweaks...wi-fi fixes..then start filling those folders up..
Then you can learn how to flash themes..roms..kernels..and modems..and you do that by reading and studying how to on each of those threads..There is a ton of information to go over...
Now you have a idea of why folks won't just say what you should do...There is so many different combinations to choose from..and for a n00b it is overwhelming..but you have to start by having an idea of what you want..what you want it to look like..and how you want it to perform..and then assemble the various items..and then assemble it yourself..Many of the Custom roms..have attempted to do this for you..and many prefer having someone do it for them..than attempt to learn how to do it for themselves....Some are full featured roms..others are stripped down version..that you have to download what you need for it..In the end..many of us have take a little from each..and mix and match to get our phones where we want them to be..because of what I underlined above..There is a lot more to learn..but..in time..you will..cause we all do learn new stuff about them everyday we work with them..The more you learn..the more you can change..
Hope this helps
Mac

All of the ROMs are different even though they are kinda the same (I don't know if that makes sense), but I would do as smoke said, verify your 3 button recovery works and find one of the many roms out there that sounds like it appeals to you. I started out using Cognition until one Saturday I woke up and looked through the forums and I found another rom that looked good. I didn't know how it ran or anything, I just liked the look of it. That weekend I flashed 4 different ROMs until I found the one that I liked best. Since then I stuck with the same 2-3 devs. It took me a while to get comfortable flashing but after a while you'll find yourself flashing in the middle of afternoon traffic.
Many of the people are helpful here and are more than happy to help. Just keep in mind that what works for me, may not work for you and vice versa. A lot of the threads have 100s if not 1000s of posts and that can be pretty intimidating but honestly I just catch up on the last few pages and I'm kinda tracking. Also many of the devs have IRC rooms to chat for any questions.
Check this thread out here and this one here for some additional help.
Happy Flashing!!

This is a basic tutorial I wrote up a few months ago for the basic flashing back to stock. It has the link for Odin 1 Click, and for Windows drivers, which you'll need:
Flash to Stock JF6:
1. Download Odin One Click from: http://www.mediafire.com/?0w2y31maz8mdom4
2. Download your Windows Drivers from:
Windows 64bit: http://www.mediafire.com/?3dh4d6up72me9re
Windows 32bit: http://www.mediafire.com/?0b45zo7o75rc5d5
3. Make sure your USB cable is connected directly to the back of your computer, not a USB hub or to a front connection and all of your drivers have been properly installed
4. Do not connect your USB cable yet.
5. On your phone, go to ; Settings/Applications/Development/and check “USB Debugging”
6. Turn your phone off
7. Remove your SIM card and Micro SD if you have one
8. Open Odin One Click
9. On your phone, press and hold the Volume up and the Volume down buttons. Do not touch the power button
10. While holding them, insert your USB cable, wait for a couple of seconds and a yellow triangle with the Android figure will show up
11. You’ll see in Odin, that your phone has been discovered
12. Press “Start”
13. Do Not mess with your phone at all
14. When it is done, your phone will reboot and Odin will display “Removed”
15. Unplug your USB cable from your phone
16. If you are proceeding to Master clear, you must close Odin BEFORE Master Clear
Master Clear:
1. Ensure you have backed up all of your information onto your Micro SD or your desktop BEFORE doing this. IT WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR INTERNAL SD!!
2. Make sure to remove your SIM and Micro SD if you have one
3. With your USB cable disconnected from your phone, open Odin One Click
4. On your phone, go to ; Settings/Applications/Development/and check “USB Debugging”
5. Connect your USB cable to your phone
6. You’ll in Odin, that your phone has been discovered
7. Click “Master Clear”
8. When the Master Clear has completed, your phone will reboot
9. You’ll need to re-enable USB Debugging again
Remember to take what you read with a grain of salt; like it's been said before, your device can act very differently than someone else's in the thread you are reading. So your milage may vary. Also remember not to be turned off by the negatives you read in a thread, some people just like to nitpick and complain. For ME, I find that if you take the theme, and set it aside, that what you're looking for is a ROM that works for your device. At the core they are pretty much the same, and any thing you don't really like as far as the theming is concerned, can be changed. So what I think you need to find is a ROM/Kernel/Modem combo that gives you good marks on the basics; call quality, WiFi, BT, signal, if the signal/call quality isnt quite right, take a look at a new modem, if there is a little hickup in the functionality, try a different kernel.
My own piece of advise, stay away from the kernels that are OC'd until you are well versed in the flashing and so on. They can cause some problems, and I personally find aren't needed.
I'm partial(as you can see by my signature) to the Phoenix ROM. It's 2.2.1 i9000 based, where as Adams other ROM Firefly, is Rogers 2.2. Over and above all things, they are great threads, and most everyone is really, really helpful
Good luck and happy flashing

thanks so much for the reply. i def read ur tutorial before!
i actualy was wondering if that would set back to stock rom, woul that be stock so i can send back the phone if i need to for warranty purposes?
thanks for all the replies!!
i did alot of research, i think im going with the cognition rom....
seems to be the best for what i want for...
just straight up reliability, performance an battery life. but reliability above all.
maybe if that isnt good for my phone, then i will try firefly.
i already got all the ddriverrs, software, etc...
im just nervous to go thru with it because im scared of breakin my beautiful phone!! (i was also scared bout doin custom roms to my winmo phones in the past, but once i get past the fear and actually do it, i usually find it to be a simple process...)
please excuse my errors, my keyboard on my laptop is retarded...
Thanks again guys!
If anyone has any tips for a first timer, please feel free to let me know!!
Thanks!

Ok, I have been a little confused with this, and pretty much this is my major concern before i go ahead and flash...
Pretty much my worry is backing up the nvdata information...
I feel this is by far the most important step. And if it is at all possible i would like to extract this data somehow and store it on my computer hard drive, on a cd, and thumb drive (to be redundant- just incase i ever need it again).
once i figure out how to be safe with that vital data, i plan on goin ahead and flashin!
I was readin up on the phoenix rom too...
looking at all these roms makes me feel like im at a restaurant and i cant choose!

nv data is only important if you use kies.
Dl either
Root explorer
Super manager
Android mate
Find efs folder on your phone, copy and paste on your sd
Mount phone move to pc

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the popular custom roms. Virtually all of them are better choices than stock. Your choice for Cognition is a good one. I have enjoyed it in the past. I'm currently running Perception 10.3 from the same developer (DesignGears). His work seems consistently high...but many others do great work, too.
Titanium Backup (market) is a good application for backing up key apps + data. Also, it can sync with a dropbox account if you have one. Once you install your new rom, you can then use Titanium backup to restore missing apps and data. (just don't restore system data to avoid messing up a new rom). It might be a good thing to practice with Titanium prior to flashing a new rom just to make sure you can delete and restore a critical application and its data.

ok so i rooted my phone, i backed up everything with titanium as per the guide.
so if i just use the clockwork recovery to install cognition rom then it will carry over the imei number and EVERYTHING else?
I ccant figure out how to save this data the efs folder or w/e...its really too complicated.
it seems like im just about half way done. since i have stock rom already, i dont need to use the odin to restore.
So clock work to install and restore with titantium.
So if i just install cognition as per instructions on the sticky thread, then i wont have ANY problems as far as my phones 'identity' (droid id, imei, etc..)?
Im guessin cwm will restore this autommatically, or it will just carry over?
i have a feeling that today i will finally have 2.2!
i just need to clear this one last concern up!
THANKS EVERYONE!

I am lazy so I did not read all the post.
Did you use android id changer to save your current id?
I have never backed up my efs file.
Only restore user apps with titanium

no i didnt do that. lol
this is why im sooo nervous about flashing this rom...
cuz i read the instructions on the sticky forum and it seems straight forward...
then i start reading posts about how u need to back up nvdata, efs folders, now im hearing about android id changer....
im glad i didnt flash it yet, cuz i might have avoided a mistake!
Pretty much i just rooted my phone, backed up apps and data like said in the instructions on the sticky topic. I downloaded cognition rom...
and i am hesitant to proceed...
i dont want to make a serious mistake!!!
is this android id changer a nessisity?
i been reading all over the boards and it is confusing the hell out of me!!!

Deep breath
You are flashing a rom not recreating the wheel.
Android id changer is soo easy to use that it makes no sense not to back up your id. App is free, open it, save id, done.
How about you're contacts, have you backed them up? If you have an external sd, go to contacts, menu, export/import, save to sd
it is not hard, it just takes some reading and getting used to. In a month you will be flashing with your eyes closed.
If you want help along the way drop me a pm

Hey mcord, since you're being so helpful, can you tell me why we should backup the android id? What is it used for?

xdahgary said:
Hey mcord, since you're being so helpful, can you tell me why we should backup the android id? What is it used for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android id is a unique identifier for your phone. When you flash a custom rom it gets changed. It can cause some issues with downloading from the market, and some games identify your device using that id.
I have flashed and not restored my id without issues before, but it is real easy and is a way of troubleshooting before a problem happens

Thanks, now I know why the Chase app says your phone is not registered after flashing a new rom. lol.

xdahgary said:
Thanks, now I know why the Chase app says your phone is not registered after flashing a new rom. lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can grab it if you go back to stock or if you have a nandroid of stock there is a way to get it

thanks mcord....so i dont need to worry about anything else then?
i backed up wit titaanium...all contacts are saved on my gmail...
i am goin to back up the id then ill proceeed with the flashing..
my main concern was the imei and stuff like that...but it doesnt seem like it will b an issue...
thanks buddy!

[Q] Roll back to KK - With root and debloat?

Hi all,
Any easy / straightforward way to roll back to KK? I've tried my best to like lollipop, but ugh
I'd like to get back to KK, with root access and a debloat of sorts but maintaining DRM keys for camera functionality... anyone have a straightforward guide?
Could care less about google apps, but I do use the maps navigation quite alot... but hangouts, google now etc just irritates me.. is this possible?
Im all stock, never modded
Regards

I'm not an expert by any means, but can show you the guide I used. I was really glad I did it - it's involved, but totally worth it, and increased my Android ability/confidence with the Z3C. Losing the DRM keys, uncertainties with the bootloader etc. still make me nervous but my phone is currently the best it's ever been. Am on stock but rooted and partially debloated.
I'm on my phone at the moment but tomorrow at my desk I'll pull up the link for you.

schnidex said:
I'm not an expert by any means, but can show you the guide I used. I was really glad I did it - it's involved, but totally worth it, and increased my Android ability/confidence with the Z3C. Losing the DRM keys, uncertainties with the bootloader etc. still make me nervous but my phone is currently the best it's ever been. Am on stock but rooted and partially debloated.
I'm on my phone at the moment but tomorrow at my desk I'll pull up the link for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be most awesome.. thanks!

Gomezie said:
That would be most awesome.. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this is the guide I used:
How-to: root, keep and backup DRM keys, etc. [KitKat/Lollipops]
..and I went from stock Lollipop I'd upgraded OTA, down to a rooted KK. For reference, from that guide, I'm a SIM free UK user so downloaded that .77 firmware and then built my own pre-rooted image when it came to step 26. The guide is, in only a few places, a little bit vague but it it's easy to figure out yourself once you're halfway through the process and actually doing it all.
While the process was involved, I did not find it challenging or frightening. Read it through several times in advance before attempting it, and download all the files you'll need ahead of time to save waiting around once you're actually rooting. Obviously back up all your valuable data before starting, just in case. If you come across any errors, make sure you have ADB debugging enabled, allow mock locations (and I also checked allow unknown sources as well). Also make sure you have all the relevant drivers. These are the most common things that trip people up when rooting on any device, in my experience so far.
Once you've successfully completed the process, I then installed a tool called Debloater. This is very easy to use, and allows you to tick off packages that you want to block, but you can also remove them entirely. What I'm doing right now is running for a week or two with the packages blocked that I'll probably want to remove, and once I'm satisfied everything is safe, I'll then actually remove them down the line.
There's no definitive list of what each package is or does though, so I removed the ones I definitely wanted to get rid of that I knew were obvious plus a few others that I took a safe guess at, or used other a few people's posts and cross-referenced them. Be careful though, some are essential to keep! I have those links bookmarked on my home PC and can dig them out for you once you're at that stage! Or alternatively, compile a list of what I've blocked myself. But I guess some of the fun is customising it to your own needs anyway, and learning along the way
Any questions, please let me know. I'm far from an expert but these boards don't seem to be too vibrant for our phones compared to other devices, probably because it took so long to get us to the point of being able to do this. Still, it's the best device I've ever owned and I'm very, very happy with where it is now thanks to the hard work of those who made root etc. possible.

This is awesome, ive got myself rooted and everything now.. will go ahead and deblot
I also concur regarding the phone.. easily my best too!
Thanks again

should we restore our backups after hard reset

Hi there community,
revolted because of battery life on my pixel (pixel 4 xl) I did few moments ago hard reset, to give it a try. Battery level droped ca. 45% in few hours doing nothing ( I don't have any new apps or somethig new on phone) During this initial setup, I was wondering should we restore our backups 1-1, will this just give us our problem back, or somehow this will be avoided? (to be clear, I am not thinking that HardReset will 100% resolve the problem, just want to give it a try)
I hope you understood my dilemma and my english
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

100kaa said:
Hi there community,
revolted because of battery life on my pixel (pixel 4 xl) I did few moments ago hard reset, to give it a try. Battery level droped ca. 45% in few hours doing nothing ( I don't have any new apps or somethig new on phone) During this initial setup, I was wondering should we restore our backups 1-1, will this just give us our problem back, or somehow this will be avoided? (to be clear, I am not thinking that HardReset will 100% resolve the problem, just want to give it a try)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean allow Google backup to restore your apps then YES, it is perfectly safe (and a big time saver). You may have to reset again to get that option. In my experience, once you use the phone and start setting it up, the restore option is not offered again. If you are talking about another type of backup like Titanium Backup, then you would allow Google to restore first and then run TiBu afterwards to restore your remaining user apps. As far as battery performance there are many ways to track down the culprit(s), BUT a fresh start is always a good thing for phone performance and stability. Best of luck! :good:

@v12xke
Thank You for Your clear response. I did restored the apps from the google one, but I thought it would be possible to restore settings also (e.g. app folders and their position, ringtone, widgets and similar).
Maybe now is not such a big deal, I have started from beginning, but is this possible for the future and if it is, should it be done?
and I will check TiBa, thanks once again.

100kaa said:
@v12xke
Thank You for Your clear response. I did restored the apps from the google one, but I thought it would be possible to restore settings also (e.g. app folders and their position, ringtone, widgets and similar).
Maybe now is not such a big deal, I have started from beginning, but is this possible for the future and if it is, should it be done?and I will check TiBa, thanks once again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. I use a combination of Google backup, Titanium Backup (requires root) and Nova Launcher. Nova allows you to backup all your home screen(s) icon locations and widgets. Google restore first, TiBu all the remaining apps, and then restore a recent Nova backup will get me back to 95% of where I was. App settings (and notifications) require a bit more time. As for how long between resets? I usually only reset on a major release 9->10->11, but sometimes things just happen and you either live with it, or reset. Hopefully this reset will allow you to find the app(s) causing the battery drain. Next time boot into safe mode first and try to duplicate the battery drain. If the battery is performing normally in safe mode, one of your apps is causing the problem and you have a smaller problem to deal with. in finding it. Best of luck. :good:

@v12xke
Hey thanks once again. I am sooo unfamiliar with Root and benefits from rooting the phone, it's a nuclear since for me. I bought Nova Launcher but I could not find how to enable "at glance" so I will wait for a bit, just to get bored with this launcher, I think it won't take a lot of time. And just to share, battery is much better today. I have 62% and its almost 12 hours as I disconnected it from the charger.
If you could share with me few links with benefits of rooting or some useful links, I would appreciate it so much.

100kaa said:
@v12xke
Hey thanks once again. I am sooo unfamiliar with Root and benefits from rooting the phone, it's a nuclear since for me. I bought Nova Launcher but I could not find how to enable "at glance" so I will wait for a bit, just to get bored with this launcher, I think it won't take a lot of time. And just to share, battery is much better today. I have 62% and its almost 12 hours as I disconnected it from the charger.
If you could share with me few links with benefits of rooting or some useful links, I would appreciate it so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ability to root is the primary reason I have stayed with Google phones over the past 10+ years. There are many advantages, but the ability to flash firmware (stock or custom) strong ad blocking and the ability to backup offline are a few. I also refuse to be locked out of something I paid for. First you should verify your variant is one that CAN be unlocked. Not all Google phones are unlocked. Where did you buy your phone? If you did not purchase an unlocked phone directly from Google, your phone may be bootloader locked and you will not be able to root even if you wanted to. First, enable developer settings and verify whether the toggle to allow OEM unlocking is NOT grayed out or locked. If you are able to toggle this setting, your bootloader can be unlocked and the phone can be rooted. Note: it is perfectly safe to toggle this setting even if you never intend to root your phone, so feel free to enable if you can. If for some reason you cannot change this setting, your phone has been bootloader locked. Step 2: Determine if the phone is carrier locked which is different from bootloader locked. Do you know if you are tied to using one carrier, or do you know for a fact you can use a SIM from another carrier? Have you tested this already? If not, borrow a SIM from a different carrier and try it. Knowing whether your phone is carrier locked is important, because if your phone is carrier locked, you may still be able to get it unlocked.

@v12xke
Thank you very much for your time and patience. I am able to unlock OEM (and i did it ) regarding the carrier lock, it's unlocked, I am using e-sim from T-Mobile and when visit other countries, I use sim card from other carrier/country and its working.
You have started my curiosity, I would like to give it a try, can you please point me at some good tutorial and will it be ok that I send you some questions if something pops out
thank you very much

100kaa said:
@v12xke
Thank you very much for your time and patience. I am able to unlock OEM (and i did it ) regarding the carrier lock, it's unlocked, I am using e-sim from T-Mobile and when visit other countries, I use sim card from other carrier/country and its working.
You have started my curiosity, I would like to give it a try, can you please point me at some good tutorial and will it be ok that I send you some questions if something pops out
thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome, and you're lucky to have an unlocked version. My son does not root, but his bootloader is unlocked anyway just in case something happens we can always get it back to stock. The next step I would suggest is to download, install and test the fastboot/adb tools. It is the command line interface that enables you to push/pull files to and from your phone (and unlock the phone). Very simply you d/l the zipfile and extract into a dedicated folder (eg. adb). It makes it easier if you add that folder to your path statement, but this is not a requirement. There are many tutorials on how to install these basic binaries (as opposed to the entire SDK which you don't need). Once you can use the fastboot command "fastboot devices" and get a response from the phone you are ready for unlocking. You can find one of the exhaustive, step-by-step, and well written guide HERE. Lots of time and effort went into that guide by @Homeboy76. :good: Best of luck, and remember even if you decide not to root that's ok, but at least your bootloader will be unlocked and you will have learned some basic fastboot/adb commands. The best time to install and learn the basics is BEFORE you have a problem.