Hi - Haven't seen any other threads on it, maybe because it's a stupid question, but I wanted to ask if most everyone has taken the update to 906, or if anyone is still hanging out on 890? I have my D3 on 890 with the 906 system. Back when I flashed the 906 system, I did notice the camera was faster (one of the changes in the change log for 906) but I still get random reboots here and there and lately I've been wondering if I should just SBF and take the update itself so I get the updated kernel and baseband as well, but I really don't like that it's a one-way-street. Has everyone who still has the phone moved on to 906 and is it worth it--will I notice more of a difference than where I'm at right now with just the 906 system? Are all the ROMs compatible with the newer kernel? I am still running stock, but I do like keeping my options open so that is probably my biggest concern.
I'm pretty sure I could easily take a nandroid, save it elsewhere, SBF and do the update, and then reroot and restore my nandroid and all should be peachy as I have it now, but with the newer kernel & baseband. Should I?
Thanks!
I think you'll find most people have upgraded. There is an 890 SBF with enough bits of 906 to permit its use, essentially bringing you back to what you have now. Or, go the safe route as I do - SBF 890, perform the OTA upgrade and use Safestrap to protect your original system while you tinker.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda app-developers app
Phibernaut said:
I think you'll find most people have upgraded. There is an 890 SBF with enough bits of 906 to permit its use, essentially bringing you back to what you have now. Or, go the safe route as I do - SBF 890, perform the OTA upgrade and use Safestrap to protect your original system while you tinker.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda app-developers app
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Thanks for the reply. I'm not worried so much about ability to SBF.. it looks like that 906 SBF that was put together works pretty well for most people. Just was concerned that I could be missing out on some good ROMs if I do upgrade, such as ones that haven't been updated (or won't be) to the 906 base. That and if I'd be gaining anything noticeable from the kernel/baseband upgrade, over just having the system as I do now.
Overall performance seems a bit zippier with 906 and I've been able to use any ROM through Safestrap. Not sure if flashing direct with CWM would be any different.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda app-developers app
I would say there are minor noticable changes with .906
if I had to say yes or no I would take the plundge
sence alot of the roms now use the .906 system files your phone being on the .906 ota would help things move more smoothly
I am keeping my phone on 890 because from what I've heard things just work better like with the 883 radio stuff. I am running MavROM which is based off of 906 so I do get better battery life.
Thanks for the responses. I guess I'm leaning more toward taking the upgrade.. why not I guess at this point. Any other 890 holdouts around with an opinion?
Related
I know people hate these threads, but I have done as much research as I could before posting, and just want to confirm if my understanding is right...
I have a Canadian (Bell) XT860 -- don't worry, it's fine.
We now have options to restore this phone from a bricked state by flashing (using RSDlite?) either a Brazillian 2.3.5 image, the ME863 image, or a third that was mentioned but I could never find.
My understanding of this as far as development goes is that we don't have a safestrap that works yet, which prevents truly custom android f/w from being made for our phones... but as we do have an option for recovering from a bricked state, people can be more adventurous without worrying nearly as much.
Am I missing or wrong on anything here?
Yes, RSDLite is the program you would use to flash a stock SBF to your XT860.
There is the Chinese ME863 rom, and most recently the Brazilian XT860 rom. What is this 3rd one you heard of... where is it from, which carrier?
Safestrap didn't seem to work for XT860 (I think) or ME863 rom users (this one I'm sure of, as I tried it myself), but I recall when I was on my stock Bell XT860 rom, Bootstrap worked (problem was, there weren't any ROMS to play with - and I believe there still aren't any roms yet.) Hopefully this Brasil stock rom will help move things forward.
Until we get "SBF" that can bring us back to original Bell firmware, we can't really get truly "adventurous", since there is no way to bring phone back to factory state if you have to send it for service. Let's hope such recovery will be leaked/found for us soon and we can really get adventurous.
Accophox said:
My understanding of this as far as development goes is that we don't have a safestrap that works yet, which prevents truly custom android f/w from being made for our phones... but as we do have an option for recovering from a bricked state, people can be more adventurous without worrying nearly as much.
Am I missing or wrong on anything here?
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Click to collapse
I've been talking to Hashcode on and off on IRC for the past few weeks and we've been messing around with my bell xt860 when he's had the time. Unfortunately with his ICS port, patching safestrap (Hashcode mentioned just last night that he believes he's traced down the problem with safestrap on the xt860) etc he's extremely busy. He's mentioned a few times that he's working on a project or two for the xt860 that should get us moving along (ie patching safestrap I think), hopefully it's enough to know that devs(Hashcode) are still looking into the issues we have on the xt860.
With that being said, I have an idea or two I'm gonna try out here. I'll post results when I'm done. There are also a lot of other bright people who are giving things a shot, a few people are recompiling modules and trying to get cm7 working etc, it's ongoing but no ones had any progress to report yet unfortunately. It is ongoing though
Edit:No love, bricked for the moment. I've tried building and flashing a few roms, some I knew wouldn't work but a few had no reason not too, like a bell xt860 rom but for some reason all end with same results, sitting at the "M", not reaching the boot animation. Some difference between the verizon and our model in terms of boot.
Okay, thanks for the clarification everybody.
So - we're just missing a way to get back to Bell XT860 from Brazil/China XT860, but the workaround seems like it's just a matter of getting recovery to work and flash backups of the original software.
And - it sounds like we're fairly close to a breakthrough in getting bootstrapping enabled, which means that we're hopefully not too far off from a de-blur'd XT860.
Accophox said:
Okay, thanks for the clarification everybody.
So - we're just missing a way to get back to Bell XT860 from Brazil/China XT860, but the workaround seems like it's just a matter of getting recovery to work and flash backups of the original software.
And - it sounds like we're fairly close to a breakthrough in getting bootstrapping enabled, which means that we're hopefully not too far off from a de-blur'd XT860.
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One of the problems we might run into is not being able to flash back to our bell kernel without an sbf from bell.
..as well as the Radio Firmware. Those can only be restored by SBF
Just to thank willis and endoroid I succesfully installed safestrap and liberty rom
the only thing its that it gives me an error when I switch to spanish language (I'm from mexico) on com.android.settings when selecting applications menu..
And also market closes.
XT860 Liberty ROM rooted and overclocked to 1200
goalando said:
Just to thank willis and endoroid I succesfully installed safestrap and liberty rom
the only thing its that it gives me an error when I switch to spanish language (I'm from mexico) on com.android.settings when selecting applications menu..
And also market closes.
XT860 Liberty ROM rooted and overclocked to 1200
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw.on the liberty thread some other ppl have had market FC issues. Apparently the.solution is to just keep reflashing until it fixes. Although you may.wish to try clearing market data.first to see.if that clears it up
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium
Clearing market data doesn't help, along with force closing.
Happens when you start trying to download an app... then just cyclic FC.
It's just reflashing and praying. (I got it on the second attempt)
Well now im using steeldroid it works perfect
I have both upgrades on my sd card currently i'm on 901. The question is can I just flash the first upgrade and go back from current 901 to the 893 or whatever factory upgrade was. I know I can go to base and go forward but I want to sewer if I can flash backwards if I have original update from Verizon.
The downside to bootloader encryption is that once a new radio baseband and kernel have been flashed, you're stuck until they release a signed update designed to upgrade from the version you're running. In short: you're stuck.
Currently there is a signed radio for 886 and 893. Take your pick. With the stock886 boot hack; you may also flash kernel. You can backtrack to either of those, then go back up the chain to whatever you have updates to.
BBB
Energy = Area.
And since daywalker04 released the 5.7.893 FXZ, there is also a signed radio update.zip for the MR-11 radios. So the choice is yet greater.
I actually ran the 5.7.893 for a long time, from it's initial leak till the leak of 5.9.901 about 10 days ago, and I think the MR-11 radios perform as well or better than the .901 radios. I am in a 3G only area though and widely variable network conditions due the the rollout of LTE and issues with the eHRPD system make any anecdotal reports virtually meaningless, unfortunately.
Great to have more options though!
Edit: I also think its a shame that someone as prolific and helpful as realbbb has been lately with Bionic dev should have only one or two thanks on his meter.
Thank the guy fercrissakes! He is doing really good work to make the new recovery files and techniques as useful and well refined as possible.
Confused..
Now I am a bit confused. I'm on the 5.8.894 leak from a few weeks back and was under the impression that the recent developments could still get back to 883 and the upgrade path. But it looks like your are saying that it's only for 893??
Beef
The full 5.5.893 FXZ file will return you to stock from 5.8.894 without any issues.
From there you can root and 4everoot using realbbb's ROTA893.bat file.
cellzealot said:
The full 5.5.893 FXZ file will return you to stock from 5.8.894 without any issues.
From there you can root and 4everoot using realbbb's ROTA893.bat file.
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Click to collapse
I haven't seen a full FXZ for 893, only the 886 with steps to then pull the OTA update. I'll search more.
+1 thanks.
Beef
Is there any danger to rooting my phone, but not flashing a ROM? I've had some bad experiences with flashing ROMs before on an older phone, and am a bit wary this time around with a newer phone. I still plan on all the "usual" root things (acceleration, ad blocking, etc.), but i want to make sure i won't end up with a brick.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA
Crepusculi said:
Is there any danger to rooting my phone, but not flashing a ROM? I've had some bad experiences with flashing ROMs before on an older phone, and am a bit wary this time around with a newer phone. I still plan on all the "usual" root things (acceleration, ad blocking, etc.), but i want to make sure i won't end up with a brick.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA
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Click to collapse
From my experiences in the forum for a few months..
Backups are your friend Just incase anything doesn't like running on stock and messes things up.
Its kind of hard to fully brick a Bionic. There are FXZ files out there to recover it back to stock.
I would recommend using safestrap and dual booting roms so you can have your stock "unsafe" system and then whatever rom you want to experiment with on your "safe" system. You can always revert between the two.
Im sure there is a way to safestrap your second "safe" system as stock blur, i've just never done it because I like Eclipse 2.2
I had my phone rooted for a couple months on stock along with using some apps that required root. Never had any problems except for using root due to an update and the rooted apps thus not working until I restored root.
Crepusculi said:
Is there any danger to rooting my phone, but not flashing a ROM? I've had some bad experiences with flashing ROMs before on an older phone, and am a bit wary this time around with a newer phone. I still plan on all the "usual" root things (acceleration, ad blocking, etc.), but i want to make sure i won't end up with a brick.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA
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Click to collapse
Nope nothing wrong with not using a ROM. But make sure you back up anyway just to be safe.
I would think with just a rooted phone,,,the only area of concern would be loosing root in the event of an OTA update. That certainly seems to be the case with everything I've read so far, and even on other platforms other than the Bionic.
Even if something went wrong,,would not a factory restore then re-root get you right back to square one?
@ priddyma: What would you suggest to make a backup? CWM?
Cwm or safestrap. For what you want to do cwm is fine. Voodoo it's rootkeeper will allow you to keep root through otas.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
ok so heres the deal. i already have the file downloaded via the updater in the settings already to get installed. but i used rom toolkit to modify my status bar and install a custom bootanimation as well as a few other things like that. do i have to use rsd lite and a full 902 fxz file to do a full sweep and clean recovery before installing 905? also does it require me to uninstall safestrap? i'm not entirely sure if anyone else has answered these questions as i don't know if anyone else has done these kind of things before upgrading to 905. i plan on installing the ICS leak after installing 905 thats why i wish to know these things as i'd rather not screw up my phone after i've put so much time and effort into making it the way i want it you know? OH one other question! i know that the ICS leak is rootable does that mean safestrap is also ICS leak friendly?
I believe you should be able to just run the update and the Bionic will reboot into stock recovery. I would create a nandroid just to be safe so you can restore if something goes wrong. I read somewhere that the ICS leak requires you to eliminate safestrap though I am not sure if that is true or not.
I decidex to go thd longer safer route of rsd lol. But i rooted the leak and safestrapped it and it still works so yay!!!! Lol
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA
So you can successfully dual boot with safe strap on the leak? Great to hear!
Yesterday i flashed if i remember the 223 leak. I flashed from 905, rooted with razor ics root. I went in to sqlite and changed the setting to get the free hotspot and than rebooted. Now on my top banner the wifi icon and my signal icon stay gray! They never got to blue! I have data service but the are always gray. Also later my signal strength went noticeably lower than before i flashed! Any help would be great! ...... also i just noticed that my browser is talking! Had chrome installed, couldn't find anything in the settings so i uninstalled and went to reinstall. Play store says that NOW its not compatible with my device! And now my stock browser is talking to me! PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
One thing at a tine.
Browser talking - check you're accessibility settings, see if Talkback is enabled.
For the GNow, that does not come with the ICS leaks. Either you installed an unofficial leak, or you installed GNow before the leak, or you installed it after the leak. There is a thread in XDA that details how to get GNow working in ICS.
For the sqlite mod, change the string back. Foxfi is free, doesn't require root, and works.
Sent from my rooted BIONIC running ICS 6.7.235 via Tapatalk 2
Thanks, I FXZed back and reloaded everything no sqlite no root and everything seems good! Still lost data for a while last night but l don't have great service at home! Might root later today, we'll see!
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
I do have one more question! If i go from .233 can i just flash .235 or do i need to FXZ again?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
Each time you try to flash a new ics leak you HAVE TO FLASH BACK TO 902/905
if you flash to 235 YOU CAN NOT FLASH BACK TO 902/905 but you can only move foward
I recommend you stay on 232 unless you dont care about flashing back to gb
bhp117 said:
Each time you try to flash a new ics leak you HAVE TO FLASH BACK TO 902/905
if you flash to 235 YOU CAN NOT FLASH BACK TO 902/905 but you can only move foward
I recommend you stay on 232 unless you dont care about flashing back to gb
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Click to collapse
If people are going to keep stating this, then they need to qualify it with the fact that you can still install GB roms on the safe side. You can even put .905 stock back on safe or unsafe using the backup restore within Safestrap (if you have the stock .905 backup file that is). There's a lot of scare about .235, but all you have to do is change how you flash and you don't "lose" anything. **Wonder if I will have to make another tutorial for people on .235...goodness**
What? We have a locked boot loader... can't run .235 on one side and .905 on the other lol
What he said was correct.. you cannot use RSD lite to fxz back to .902/.905 with .235 so unless you're a fool don't make the move... 232 is great
Finally Iced Out Legitimately... Bionic is back
You cannot go back to fully stock Gingerbread anything once you flash .235 so for the sake of newer users being thrown off the upgrade path and not being able to FXZ back to .905 we all should just leave it at that.
cnorman76 said:
I do have one more question! If i go from .233 can i just flash .235 or do i need to FXZ again?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I think you've gotten the gist of the info, but I'll reiterate.
You have to be on .905 to flash any of the current ICS leaks (and there is a 99% chance of that being true with any future leaks / soak tests / final OTA b/c .905 is the current official OS version for the BIONIC.
You can flash .235 off of .905, but once you are in .235, you cannot restore your phone to .905 via FXZ, and you cannot try to fool the system with a simple Nandroid backup of .905 that you restore over .235. The reason is that the update script also looks to patch several things.
First of all, no update script ever includes the boot.img of the version that is being installed. It includes a patch file that requires you to have either the boot.img of the system that you are coming from, or the system that you are going to. Any other version and it throws up an error and does not allow the update to continue. IOW, if, say, leak .241 comes out, and you're on .235, you have no way to getting .241 without using a method to make the .241 kernel. You cannot flash the .905 kernel onto a .235 system - it trips eFuse and bricks the phone. You have no .241 kernel to install b/c, as I said, the update only includes a patch file, not the full kernel.
Second, even provide that you pass that (which in theory you might as you are on a .235 leak with only .905 /system restored from a Nandroid backup, and if the new leak uses the exact same kernel you'll pass), it also verifies every file in /system that it is going to patch, along with every file in /preinstall that you are going to patch. Restoring that Nandroid backup does wonders for having the .905 /system on your phone, but the current leak you are on has already patched several files in /preinstall, so those signatures will not match, and you'll fail the verification step, and ultimately the update will fail.
For the record, a typical FXZ flashes 17 different partitions on our phones. Nandroid backups on the BIONIC typically can only make backups of 3-4 of those partitions. We have figured out ways to grab a few more of them, but we are still stuck at grabbing a couple of them, and there are 4-5 that we cannot grab from our phones at all.
Since the folks with RAZRs went through something very similar in May and June, mattlgroff figured out a way to fool the update into thinking you have all the components correct in place that need to be there, and the update proceeds. Thus far, after bricking my phone trying to FXZ back to .905 / .902, I used a script to get back on .235, then verified that the move to reinstall the .235 leak works. If another leak is found, then I can test the second part of the script, that which allows new leaks to be installed. The script does not allow any older ICS leak to be installed, and currently there is no way to go back to a previous leak nor a previous GB stock FXZ at all. Even if we had a .223X ICS FXZ or a .22X ICS FXZ or a .230/.232 FXZ, they would not work on a phone that has been updated to .235.
That is why we're saying hold off unless you're 100% positive you're willing to accept the risk - this is way beyond the risk associated with rooting your phone. If Motorola makes the next leak force the phone to have components from .905 that we cannot flash into a .235 upgraded phone, I (and several others that have taken the plunge) might be permanently stuck on .235 until an FXZ for a version of ICS higher than or equal to .235 is released. And that typically takes 6-8 weeks.
HTH
crobs808 said:
If people are going to keep stating this, then they need to qualify it with the fact that you can still install GB roms on the safe side. You can even put .905 stock back on safe or unsafe using the backup restore within Safestrap (if you have the stock .905 backup file that is). There's a lot of scare about .235, but all you have to do is change how you flash and you don't "lose" anything. **Wonder if I will have to make another tutorial for people on .235...goodness**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make a guide if you will and state the proper steps to do so
I had one issue with. 232. I noticed the lock screen is useless. My home button unlicked the screen plus the notification bar scrolled down to unlock also lol. Other that that it amazing
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
dblkspecial said:
I had one issue with. 232. I noticed the lock screen is useless. My home button unlicked the screen plus the notification bar scrolled down to unlock also lol. Other that that it amazing
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
i noticed that the other day when I got a text while my screen was locked. I naturally pulled the notification bar down and noticed that I didn't unlock my phone at first. Tried it just now and it's unlocking without swiping to unlock. My home button doesn't do anything howerver.