Database Develop

Newbie Friendly How To's w/ Instructional Videos

Hello,
Thought I'd share the updated How To's we have up on the site. All complete with easy to follow videos for newbies.
How To Setup ADB -
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/
How To Load a Theme -
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/how-to-load-a-theme-on-an-android-phone/
How To Flash a New Recovery Image -
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/how-to-flash-a-new-recovery-image-if-you-are-already-rooted/
How To Switch to a Different SD Card (for use with Swap, Hero ROMs, etc.) -
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/ho...-android-when-using-swap-hero-and-or-apps2sd/
How To Backup/Restore Your Android Phone -
http://theunlockr.com/2010/02/06/how-to-backup-and-restore-your-android-phone/
Nexus One How To's -
How To: Root the Nexus One (Updated 01.11.10)
http://theunlockr.com/2010/01/02/how-to-root-the-nexus-one/
How To: Load a Custom ROM on the Nexus One (Updated 1.11.10)
http://theunlockr.com/2010/01/08/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-the-nexus-one/
Want HTC Sense UI (HTC Desire ROM) on Your Nexus One? Ok, no problem.
http://theunlockr.com/2010/02/20/want-htc-sense-ui-htc-desire-rom-on-your-nexus-one-ok-no-problem/
Hope these help people! Enjoy!
For a list of all our How To's (w Videos) sorted by Phone go here -
http://theunlockr.com/how-tos/android-how-tos/

very helpful. we should merge with the newbie tutorial

This has been posted before, but still very useful info.

Awesome thanks! A little confusing with so much info all over the place. This sticky will help a bunch of people .

Excellent to have all these in one place, thanks!

I want to say thank you for this! It has helped me a lot.

Beauty!!! Good work!!

Great work, much appreciated. Although, after reading lots and following the forums, I have a few questions:
With the one-click root app listed in the wiki, will I still need to unlock the bootloader to flash a new radio? I'm hearing great things about updating to the new radio but it's also the riskiest thing you can do with the nexus in terms of bricking danger. I'm not a TOTAL newb: I did root and mod my old G1 but the N1 is different in that it cost $350. So the stakes have changed.
I know that it's possible to one-click root and still load CM6, which I plan on doing, but in the CM6 installation instructions, it lists "update radio...if necessary." How do I even know what radio I have or if it needs updating? This all of course without unlocking bootloader, hopefully. I want to keep my warranty; I paid top dollar for this thing!
Put simply, can I update my radio successfully and safely with the "one-click root" method, and if I can't, can I load CM6 without updating the radio.
Thanks so much in advance, and I apologize for being so gun-shy.
By the way, my about phone stats:
Build: FRF91
Kernel 2.6.32.9-27227
Android version 2.2
Love froyo!

how to root N1
hello i need some help how to root my N1

Don't worry, it's easy =].
Download One-Click Root and drop the .apk on your SD card, or email it to yourself. If you go the SD card route, you will need to install ASTRO File Manager to navigate to the root application. Install One-Click Root and run it, it takes about a second and will install BusyBox and Superuser IIRC.
Congrats, you have rooted your phone! You can now install apps that need root, such as Titanium Backup, SetCPU, and many others. Try searching the market for 'Nexus One Root' and check out here for a great list of root apps.
Install ROM Manager from the Market if you want to try out other ROMs. Remember to always make backups!
Have fun!

All these assume Windows, what about OS X and Linux?

Take Apart Videos
What will you do when your phone gets crazy? yes, send the phone back to repair center if it is still under warranty. what if it is out of warranty, and it is so expensive to repair it? or there are just some tiny problems and you just want to fix it by your self? yes, you may feel impulsed to take apart your phone by yourself and figure out what the hell the problem is. if you decide to do this, here are some wonderful take apart videos that may bring you some help. The nexus one take apart video is also included:
globaldirectparts.com/product-p/taprtvdo009.htm

S-Off
Hi,
This is a great sticky to have, but I have noticed it's missing out on something, and I couldn't find that despite using search on the forum. How to gain S-Off on Nexus One? Or is S-Off even required to get write access to /system partition the way it is required on some other Android devices including the Nexus One clone HTC Desire?

Rooting for Mac Users
I was also wondering about how to root if you have a Mac. Everything I see is for someone running windows and now that 2.2.1 is out the one click apps do not work. Advice?

Changing Splash Screen
Hi,
I wanted to change the default 'X' splash screen on nexus one. I had read that S-Off is necessary for that but I am not able to find a method that works for nexus one, can someone please help?
Thanks

followed all the steps to root the nexus one and then go to the last step which is to install the .bat file.... the command prompt pulls up and says <waiting for device> it says its unlocked but the apps needing root privileges says the device isnt rooted could someone please help me!?
i am running off the manual 2.3.3 update if that matters.

thanks for the info helped me alot.

This is outdated. I have Android OS 2.3.4 and from what I have read around root is only possible when downgraded. Please post a new video showing how to root N1 with 2.3.4.
Oh and try to keep the music on the low this time?

Does my Nexus One need to be S-OFF?
I am in the process of trying to install a new ROM (Cyanogen).
My N1 is unlocked and rooted. But I cant seem to get far. My research & understanding is that I need S-OFF
Currently it is -- NEXUSONE PVT SHIP S-ON
This article doesnt concur http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=700673
(now closed so I can't continue this thread)
I am now using ROM Manager premium but still cant get a new ROM installed.
Help?

The N1 is different from most phones. S-OFF is not needed to make the necessary changes to flash the bootloader, radio, recovery, or the system partition. So continue on with the next steps (which is to probably flash a custom recovery, then boot into that and flash CM and gapps).
If you stick with ROM Manager, flash the custom recovery, and then reboot and make sure it is there... then boot back into Android and use ROM Manager to flash CM (make sure you check the gapps box).

Rooting Newly Upgraded 2.1

Ok so I got my hero about a month ago and upgraded to 2.1 last week. Terrible decision...wish I could take it back...but I hear that if you root your phone and use a custom ROM you can actually have a pretty decent experience with your phone using 2.1 I can't even list how many problems and how slow 2.1 is.
I do not know a lot at all about rooting a phone, I never have before, and the tutorials on unlocker seem to be out-dated with the 1.5 software so nothing is working for me. I have the ADP setup on my computer, I'm just wondering what's the easiest and most up to date way to root my Sprint HTC Hero so I can use a custom ROM. Any help is appreciated, thank you.

**If your software/build number (2.27.651.X) ends in 6, you must download and run this RUU first to be able to use the root exploit on your phone. If it ends in .5, skip this and click the link in the next sentence.**
Try this and if you follow it correctly, you'll be able to root your phone and be able to nandroid, and flash custom roms and what not.
Final note, all of the user data/settings on your phone will be reset, so it will be like having a brand new phone out of the box. Just an FYI.

Thank you I have successfully rooted my phone...but I'm having trouble connecting to the internet now. I cannot receive any weather data and have no internet connection at all.

I"m having the same problem, even after I set back to factory default. Not sure what I did wrong.

Gnfghtr said:
I"m having the same problem, even after I set back to factory default. Not sure what I did wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What problem(s) are you having in particular? Not being able to root?

[SOLVED] Help to choose rooting method and backup method

Got my phone (AT&T Captivate, firmware 2.1-update1 version JH7, kernel 2.6.29, build eclair.UCJH7) on december 28 from a AT&T store (it even came with a pic taken december 20 ) and I've already been able to boot into download mode (power off, hold volume keys then plug usb) and into that menu used to install packages (power off, hold volume keys then power on). Guess my hardware and firmware are ok, so I may be able to recover my phone by myself in case things go south.
I've been doing my homework lately (been reading stickys, tutorials and faqs for 10 days) but I'm still confused about some procedures. I'm not going to list everything I've read here, but I would like someone to correct me if I've learnt wrong. I don't really need the easiest methods, I want to understand the options available and to choose the best ones (aka the hardest path).
First of all, it seems I need to root my phone in order to be able to create backups, carrier-unlock it and flash custom roms. But it doesn't make much sense to me, since rooting it seem to be enough to prevent it from receiving FOTA updates - and I want to make the most comprehensive backup possible, in such a way I could restore my phone to 'factory condition' if needed.
Second, I realize there are many ways, programs and guides to root the phone - the most famous ones, One-Click root/unroot and z4root, seem to be listed in the wiki (http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-I897), but there is also CLShortFuse's One-Click Root and Allow Non-Market Apps, which sounds interesting but I don't know if it is undo-able. So there are different ways to root the phone, but there is little to none information on what's the difference between these methods, which is 'better' and what difference does it make if I root it permanently or by some reversible method. Does it affect performance? How each of them work? I have no clue.
The mess gets even greater when it comes to creating backups. People mention different programs to make these backups (clockwork recovery, titanium backup) but I don't understand if they back up different parts of the phone. Some even seem to change the bootloader of the phone - shouldn't it be backed up prior to any modification? Do I flash these backups using Odin? Which programs should I use to have a full backup? Is there anything left I should back up manually?
I'll quit talking for now because I've already written a lot and I still have many questions; if I write all of them at once, no one will ever have the patience to read them.

Erk, a long post deserves a long answer
So first off, il tell you about recovering your phone. Since you just got it, you can go back to the store and play dumb to get a new one in case anything goes wrong. You can also use the 3 button combos to get into download mode and use odins back to stock to get back to your original 2.1 eclair firmware . To do that you would need to get into download mode. Now there are a couple ways to do this, and i can only explain two since ive actually used two. (Well 3 actually, but il get to the third after these 2)
The first method is using the 3 button combo which you should already know. The second method is using adb commands such as (adb shell, adb reboot download, adb reboot recovery, adb devices). The third way is building a jig. Thats basically connecting 301k 1/4 watt worth of resistors together and placing them on pin 4 and 5 on your micro usb slot. You can read more about that on the tutorial on how to build a jig for your phone.
To restore to your factory setting, odin's one click back to stock thing should do the job. It simple installs the stock 2.1 eclair all over again (without the root).
To root your phone, any method from the wiki should work. None of them are really "better" :S, they all do the same job and give you super user permissions. None of them root your permanently since you can always go back to stock using Odin's... It does not really affect performance, not to any extent i have noticed :S, and unfortunately, i dont really know how it works.
As for creating backups, Titanium Backup is the best solution. Whether you have the few extra bucks to spend for the premium one or simply want to use the free one, its one of the best tools out there. I personally use it and its one of the best. It backs up all the data (except for my text messages). It creates a folder on your internal memory which you can just copy to your desktop. When the time comes that you need to restore your backup, just copy the folder back into your internal memory, load up titanium backup. Restore it and voila .
I think ive answered everything, if ive missed anything, let me know
Edit : Forgot to mention this . If your truly interested in customization. Custom roms are the best there is a howto in the themes and apps section on how to install it. It comes pre-rooted (if that is the word to use :S) and theyre much better than the stock firmware. Im currently using serendipity v3.0 (flashed it yesterday)

supaphreek, guess I'll have to thank you twice: once for reading my enormous post, and again for you supacompleteanswer.
I'm being paranoid with recovery because I actually bought the phone in the US then came back to my country (Brazil), so I'm a few thousand miles away from the simple lets-return-this-thing solution.
From everything I've read, I believe the most instructive were the wiki at http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-I897 , the FAQ at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858765 , the PDF guide from user nbs11 at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=761819 and the wiki at http://www.capfaq.com/w/FAQ. These contain most of the info a newbie user would ever need and I'd definitely recommend them to any newbie user who happen to be reading this. And for everyone afraid of bricking, it's a tremendous relief to know pretty much any mess you do can be reverted using download mode and Odin, so the first thing to test is if you can get into download mode using one of the ways described by our buddy supaphreek.
On the rooting matter, I found no discussion at all about which is better, so they should be pretty similar (though I have no idea which is the oldest version, I'd assume the recent ones might be a little improved). There is some discussion on what's the better lagfix and many of the cooked ROMs already come with some lagfix installed, but this is another story...
Once I get my phone rooted, it seems to be trivial to carrier-unlock it. There's even an app on android market for this, so I won't even need sideloading. Since all this procedure does is just give me a number, there's hardly any difference among all the unlocking procedures out there.
For the backup, I'll still do it using both titanium and clockwork, as suggested by nbs11 on the pdf I've linked on this post. Better safe than sorry, right?
And yes, I'm truly interested in customization and I'll go deep down that path, I'm just packing up my head with some knowledge to avoid being desperate if things eventually go fubar.
As a last question, is there somewhere I can get 1-click Odin with my exact firmware version? (2.1-update1, I897UCJH7, Kernel 2.6.29 [email protected] #2, build eclair.ucjh7) And how important is it to get the exact same firmware?
As I've done my research, I found 1-click odin with JF6 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989
I've also found the 'standalone' I897UCJH7 on this topic (where this guy even flashed succesfully his phone using old JH2 firmware without problems, so finding the exact firmware version might not be the greatest issue): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36 but this process is a bit more complicated and uses regular Odin and clockwork recovery. Nonetheless, from what I've understood, I can still use any old version of odin to flash JF6 then use my own clockwork backup, right?

Hmm, unfortunately, im not sure if there is a specific Odin for that firmware :S. However what you can do is use one that reverts you to any stock version, and then flash the version you want through clockwork mod

I'll do that. Thanks again!

Also if you one click to stock, you can OTA update to the most recent firnware. I suggest titanium premium if you are going to flash a lot of custom roms, it is a lot faster to restore and also syncs with dropbox
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Be careful trying to flash with odin. Some newer builds get instabrick flashing back to jf6 and must go with jh2 or newer.
So, you may want to invest a few bucks in a jig setup before blindly using odin.

Thanks for the tip, sixstringsg.
Newter55, as my phone is brand new I believe I may have one of these insta-brickable devices. If I happen to try flashing it with a recent rom, does it get recoverably bricked (fixed by flashing an older rom), or I'm left with a $500 paperweight?

You just need to use the correct firmware version of odin if you manage to get in trouble. Many people flash rom over rom, including myself, but it is highly likely that at some point you will need odin if you are flashing roms so it is best to ensure that you have that set up first. Look for the odin thread by c3popl (sp?) in development forum and you should find what you need. Read through that and look for others with your base firmware. Or look through q&a at the "help I bricked" threads . On my phone and posting links is a pita or I would make it easy for you.

If your phone came with JH7, follow this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36
If you use one of the Odin one-clicks and brick your phone, you'll need a USB jig to recover.

You guys are awesome. Thank you newter55 and GGXtreme for this info! I hope I'll never need it, but I'll buy a cable and make a jig.
The news: I've rooted my phone using One Click Root / Unroot by TGA_Gunnman (for the record: it worked with my JH7 Captivate bought in 28 dec). Once I booted windows, installed dotnet framework 4 and the samsung drivers (easy too, but a pita), rooting was easy and failproof. However, someone using linux might find it easier to just download 1-click root, find the root.zip file in there, rename it as update.zip, put the zip in the internal sdcard, boot the phone holding the volume buttons and then 'install packages'. This way there will be no need to fight Wine nor install anything nor look for a windows computer with admin privileges.
Also unlocked my phone using SGS Unlock Tool, available in the Android Market. The unrooted option won't work, but once rooted it worked like a champ. Next step: I'll do the backups, and then... start messing up my new toy!

Need help from Root Froyo user

Hey all so I currently have an unlocked bootloader, rooted Nexus One still running the Stock Froyo 2.2.2. and I decided to finally upgrade to the OTA Gingerbread update but have a problem.
The OTA update restarts my phone with a triangle with an "!" inside it and an Android next to it, so I decided to try a manual update as described here.
Everything went well until the installation itself, during the install I kept getting some sort of error stating Twitter.apk in the system directory could not be authenticated.
So here's the problem, with Titanium Backup I made the stupid mistake of uninstalling it and not backing it up when I first rooted a while ago. I thought I could just reinstall it from the market but I get the same error. The only solution I can think of is if someone running a Nexus One Stock Froyo could possibly send me the Titanium Backup files of Twitter, hopefully this would make it work, otherwise I don't think I could ever update.

Since your bootloader is unlocked, you can use fastboot to install a custom recovery and then flash whatever you want (including a stock image)...
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App

danger-rat said:
Since your bootloader is unlocked, you can use fastboot to install a custom recovery and then flash whatever you want (including a stock image)...
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response, but I'm having trouble figuring some of this stuff, after spending some time with the search option here in XDA:
1. I don't the difference between custom recovery and flashing an image.
2. I can't find a simple stock Gingerbread image (thought its called ROM?) Details in posts tend to be vague for people that are learning this stuff, like me.
3. Many people have written to use Amron_ra 2.2.1 but I don't know the specifics of each ROM are (ex. if its Froyo based, Gingerbread based, etc.)
4. Would using ROM Manager be a good method to use any ROM or is it limited?
I'm essentially looking for an effective method to upgrading to a clean Gingerbread, since doing it the normal way won't work on my phone (as stated in my first post).

1 - Recovery, bootloader, and 'ROM' are two different partitions on you phone. Once you break security on one, you can use it to break the security on the other. In your case, the security on your bootloader is broken (unlocked), so you can use it to install new software on the other partitions.
2 - See bullet 4 on the first post of this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1005591
3 - For recovery you have 2 choices, Amon Ra or Clockwork, If you go with Clockwork, I recommend you stay away from 3.x versions. Unless the ROM you want to install says otherwise, either of these recoveries will work.
4 - ROM Manger will work. It's an easy way to achieve results, but unless you know what you are doing, it's also an easy way to screw things up.
I suggest you take it a step at at a time, and really understand what you are doing. Reading the wiki is always a good start, then ask specific questions...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:Nexus_One.png

Thanks Danger, I made the jump to Cyanogen 7, RC-4 via ROM Manager and couldn't be happier! Only problem is the known audio bug for Nexus One (person on other end of a call hears a lot of static sometimes, and have to recall them). The forced apps2sd is by far my most favourite feature, especially since the N1 internal space is pretty horrible, I've moved most of my apps2sd and haven't had any problems thus far.
Thanks for recommending CM7, I just wish their website listed the full features for newbies like me.

Thanks danger-rat http://www.nexusoneforum.net/forum/...lick-doesnt-work-gingerbread-2.html#post93952
I downgraded my gingerbread to froyo
Was pulling my hair out with a lame guide in the general section

Congrats!!
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App

[Q] Nexus One stock GRJ22 (rooted) with apps2ext?

I'm currently running with a rooted version of the latest stock firmware on my N1, and I love the stability and all, except Google's apps2sd implementation is really dumb.
With only a dozen or so apps I am already getting low storage errors.
I've tried flashing in DT's apps2sd but unfortunately it didn't seem to work at all. Are there any other options for me to get apps2ext support without switching to a custom rom?

Try Link2sd in the Market.
It may be better, it may not, but it's worth a try...

Hey SmallWalrus,
I am running stock 2.3.4 unrooted Nexus one. (yes, that is GRJ22)
I have never rooted a phone. Can you please point me somewhere which shows how to unlock and root the N1 with my specs. My phone is pretty old. I am only rooting it because this is a spare one and I now have moved to SGS2.
PS: using a mac and Linux machine. If not then please show me a windows one. i'll try dual booting my macbook pro.

painkilleryusuf said:
Hey SmallWalrus,
I am running stock 2.3.4 unrooted Nexus one. (yes, that is GRJ22)
I have never rooted a phone. Can you please point me somewhere which shows how to unlock and root the N1 with my specs. My phone is pretty old. I am only rooting it because this is a spare one and I now have moved to SGS2.
PS: using a mac and Linux machine. If not then please show me a windows one. i'll try dual booting my macbook pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you unlocked your bootloader? That was how I did it though, there is no other way to root 2.3.4 without doing this at the moment.

That is what i want to know. How do i do that safely?

Well there is a way to safely root your phone without unlocking the bootloader, I did those steps recently and they worked fine for me.
1. You need to downgrade your phone to Froyo. Get the FRG83 image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nexus_One/Roms
Rename it to PASSIMG.zip and copy it to the root folder of your SD Card. Boot your phone into the bootloader and flash the image. This will wipe your device, so be sure to make a backup of your data and apps first.
2. Use SuperOneClick to root your phone. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682
3. Now you need to flash a custom recovery. I used the Clockworkmod one, because flashing it is very simple: install the Rom Manager app from the market, it has an option to flash the recovery.
4. Now you are set to flash custom ROMs, either through Rom Manager or the Recovery. You should however do a Nandroid Backup first, in case anything goes wrong in flashing the ROM. Boot into Recovery and you should see a menu item saying Backup or something.
It's really not a big deal as it sounds, I can't guarantee that this will work for you. You should know what you are doing and if you feel unsafe about any of these steps, make sure to search the forums or the web about it, before you execute it.

painkilleryusuf said:
That is what i want to know. How do i do that safely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't see your question until now
Actually, it IS very easy to do this, you can find the instructions here:
http://android.modaco.com/topic/299078-how-to-unlock-the-bootloader-on-your-nexus-one/
It does have some warranty implications though, but since I am already using an import set I don't care. According to some, HTC usually shuts one eye and fix your phone's hardware failures even if it has an unlocked bootloader, but YMMV.