So as of Oct 1st I've been the proud owner of a Captivate. This is upgrading from an Ericsson feature phone, which while I hacked, the scene here is very different. Moreover, the organization and level of detail I tend to find things is a little lacking (yes, I've used the search feature). I understand that the Android platform is spreading rapidly, the Captivate especially, so I will say I don't fault XDA or anything. I'm just trying to educate myself (and hopefully be able to help the community later) via a massive post on breaking myself into the Captivate hacking circle.
Most of the below are questions that fall under some kind of similar topic.
What do the I8000/I9000 terms pertain to? Which phones or firmware versions are which Ix000? How can I check for myself in the future? (I'm under the impression that the Captivate falls under I9000, but still I'd like more firm determination.)
How many ROMs can be active on a phone at once? (Can a ROM be just some UI changes, on top of another that changes some backend file organization or, say, another UI alteration for a different section of the phone?)
ROM Manager + Clockwork Mod seems to be the defacto tool for flashing phone ROMs and creating backups with the Captivate. But I've also seen people suggest using Titanium Backup often for creating backups if the user wants to have a stock state of their phone to revert to in order to go back to a clean slate. (Only real difference that is apparent is TB seems to use the word "image" and not "backup", but if that's the case then what does a "backup" count as out of ROM Manger?) And what of Odin? Or Nandroid? I get there are different methodologies to do the same thing, but it’d be nice to lay out the details, uses, pros, cons, and comparisons between all these backup utilities.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: Shoot, thought I was on the Q&A page. Feel free to move. Apologies.
While you are in development look at the captivate bible, it links to the important threads, I think there is a wiki up somewhere too that answers the important questions.
Titanium backup backs up apps and data but I don't know if its in the form of an image, certainly not a full disk image.
Nandroid is a feature of rom manager/clockwork recovery, I believe that is an image but I haven't actually used a backup from it yet so I don't know if it is or isn't.
Odin is a tool for flashing samsung firmwares, 3rd party roms can use odin and a hybrid can be made my mixing one rom with another kernel or modem.bin.
Most recent 3rd party roms use a .zip file run in clockwork recovery which can be launcher from rom manager.
Some mods and I think a few roms are run as an update.zip in the stock recovery screen which you get to via a button combo on boot up. Hold both volumes for 2 sec then press power and continue holding all 3 buttons till the att screen pops up.
Since you are new to android, I'd look at designgears work, or eugene. High quality stuff. Cognition 2.2 is based on leaked froyo and is probably the best gps and fastest, linpack shows the best numbers with froyo(2.2). But for 3d gaming the overclock (only on eclair (2.1)) will give better frame rates from a higher gpu clock. Not that the humming bird needs better 3d performance. It already leads the field in that area, most benchmark are ineffective because the gpu is capped at 56fps and it will hit that cap through most tests.
Kernels for overclock/undervolt and/or voodoo are loaded into condition 2.1.x and can be added to other eclair roms with ease.
eugenes roms are very thought out but take a while to get right on the captivate since he has a vibrant and there are differences.
I-9000 is the international galaxy s and is the most feature rich version that is gsm, many files roms ect can run on the captivate with some bugs, I-9000 kernels are used to enable hsupa, but break the bluetooth.
Lag fix is a ext2 or ext4 partition to boost file system speeds, ask a dev about how that works, I have no idea. Voodoo lag fix, I think is a full file system replacement and considered superior. its not available in froyo, we have no source code for froyo to build the kernel.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
Cyber_Bruno said:
What do the I8000/I9000 terms pertain to? Which phones or firmware versions are which Ix000? How can I check for myself in the future? (I'm under the impression that the Captivate falls under I9000, but still I'd like more firm determination.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the Samsung's code for their devices. For example :
i900 --> Samsung Omnia
i8000 --> Samsung Omnia II
i9000 --> Samsung Galaxy S (International)
B7610 --> Samsung OmniaPRO (the touchscreen slider)
C6625 --> Samsung Valencia
And finally, i897 --> AT&T Samsung Captivate
Cyber_Bruno said:
How many ROMs can be active on a phone at once? (Can a ROM be just some UI changes, on top of another that changes some backend file organization or, say, another UI alteration for a different section of the phone?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, only one ROM can be used in the device at the same time. It is recommended to flash stock ROM first before flashing non-stock ROM, to avoid conflict between ROMs. Every non-stock ROMs is made to replace stock ROM, not another non-stock ROMs.
Cyber_Bruno said:
ROM Manager + Clockwork Mod seems to be the defacto tool for flashing phone ROMs and creating backups with the Captivate. But I've also seen people suggest using Titanium Backup often for creating backups if the user wants to have a stock state of their phone to revert to in order to go back to a clean slate. (Only real difference that is apparent is TB seems to use the word "image" and not "backup", but if that's the case then what does a "backup" count as out of ROM Manger?) And what of Odin? Or Nandroid? I get there are different methodologies to do the same thing, but it’d be nice to lay out the details, uses, pros, cons, and comparisons between all these backup utilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM Manager & Clockwork Mod --> Same utility, get from the market. Flash stock ROM first. You don't need PC to flash with ROM Manager/Clockwork Mod
Odin --> Conventional way that needs PC to flash the ROM. Flash stock ROM first. Usually ROMs that need Odin will be available as .exe file, and the .exe file contains Odin with the ROM, so, you don't need to download Odin separately
Titanium Backup --> A backup app, get from the market. It will generate an .APK file that contains the app with their data (for example : saved games) as an .APK file. After flash the new ROM, just reinstall the generated .APK file. It can backup app (with data), WiFi settings, contacts & calendar (better use your Google account), SMS/MMS (better use separate SMS/MMS backup app from the market), Call History, etc
Nandroid --> I don't know, never used before.
Cyber_Bruno said:
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome
Nandroid --> I don't know, never used before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid is a function of RM/CWM wherein it take a full snapshot of the current rom setup: system, application data, etc. (no, it does not copy the entire internal SD card.)
Well, your questions are pretty standard things, not really related much to actual dev work.
I will point you to the 3 most important things you will need to get started.
apk manager
auto-deodexer
apktool
...and the obvious dev tools, netbeans, android sdk, etc...
...one more thing...
This thread is godly;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=725870
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
chaoscreater said:
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=983516
This is still the best way to get a custom ROM loaded up onto your phone. What you want to start with is flashing the vulnerable recovery from http://android.doshaska.net/rootable by using RSD Lite. To do so, you need to put the phone into Bootloader mode (power+Dpad-up) You can google RSD Lite, make sure you use the latest version along with the latest USB Driver version from Motorola.
RSD Lite is a very finicky program, if you have any errors flashing, your best bet would be to try this post: http://androidforums.com/droid-all-...hing-process-0x7100-rsd-lite.html#post1274587
Once you flash the VR (vulnerable recovery), you will want to put OpenRecovery on your SD Card. I recommend using OR 1.46 and placing FuFu's minimod on the SD Card as well. It will overwrite existing files in OR (look for it in Milestone Development). From here you can root the phone in OR (by using power+x, then camera+volume up) and reboot, backup all data you want saved, before flashing a ROM.
Once that is done, get the custom ROM that you want (I find speed + battery can be Cronos, CM7 or FroyoMOD for a Froyo ROM) and place it in OpenRecovery/updates. You will also want the most up-to-date version of Google Apps for Cronos or any Gingerbread ROM (except MIUI).
Gapps: http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip
Now, turn the phone off, and put it into recovery mode (power+x, then camera+volume up), select apply update.zip and you are now into OpenRecovery.
Here is where you will flash your custom ROM and Gapps. Wipe both cache partition and dalvik cache, then wipe all data. Select Apply Update under Miscellaneous Menu and select the ROM you want. Once it is done, wipe both caches (not data) and flash Gapps. Wipe caches again. Finally, change the baseband to your country and reboot.
The first reboot will take a while, as the ROM is configuring itself for first time use.
That is how to flash a custom ROM and get started.
2- Custom kernels are not available for Milestone, as our bootloader is locked. Overclocking the phone is done through the 10overclock file in system/etc/init.d . All ROMs that I know of are overclock, most to 1GHz (from 550MHz). You will not be able to flash any kernels, and DO NOT try ROM Manager, it will temporarily brick your phone.
Crucial apps, I would say are Root Explorer, TitaniumBackup. Those are the two that are very useful for root users, if you flash multiple ROMs or need to access system files.
Hope this helped.
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
chaoscreater said:
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried Milestone Overclock, but I never really used it to overclock the phone. I prefer changing the voltages and speeds with the 10overclock file. If you read the description of Milestone overclock, it "tricks" the kernel into thinking it's supposed to run at a certain speed.
ROM Manager and Clockwork Recovery Mod do not work on Milestone. The only recovery that works with the Milestone is OpenRecovery or Androidiani OpenRecovery. Unfortunately, the only way to flash the ROMs is through OR or AOR, so you will have to repeat the processes every single time. I have gotten used to where all of the options are for FuFu's Minimod, so I am able to do it quite efficiently
The best way to backup a ROM, system data and the such is by Nandroid backup. That is the only sort of backup that you can do. It is recommended to do one every time you flash a custom ROM, but I only did it after I rooted and before I flashed my first custom ROM. You can do it through OR. That is the only way that will work. CWM and ROM Manager will just temp brick the phone and you will have to reflash a stock SBF all over again.
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
chaoscreater said:
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I follow AndroidPolice as well. I don't know about Boot Manager, I heard about it, but I haven't heard any reviews of it yet.
Two things when it comes to phone storage and apps on the Milestone: Old hardware makes for a lot of games to not work at all, and low phone storage space.
Almost every ROM comes with apps2ext support, which is a more advanced version of Apps2SD. You can follow this tutorial here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10994672&postcount=226
Apps2ext will trick your phone into thinking space on the SD Card (the ext partition) is actually part of the phone's internal memory. You will be able to get a lot more apps on the phone this way.
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
chaoscreater said:
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you still can. The best tweak for Milestone is under Android Hacking, it's zeppelinrox's supercharger script, which you run through Script Manager. That's the best you can get.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
chaoscreater said:
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some do, such as HO!NO!, but not all of them do.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ok so I finally got my Milestone today!
I'm about to start rooting it and install CM7 on it. But before I do that, I have one important question. I know for Windows Mobile, almost all of the device requires you to do a hard reset after flashing a custom rom. I was wondering if the same needs to be applied to Android custom roms? Because it doesn't seem like it, I did a quick Google search and found this:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...4-do-not-factory-reset-your-rooted-phone.html
So ya I'm not sure....
UPDATE:
Ok so I got my Milestone rooted, and installed CM7 on it. I came across a weird problem while doing it though. First of all, I'm using a 8GB Kingston microSD class 2, and it's brand new and hasn't been used before, so it obviously has nothing stored on it as it's empty to begin with. Ok, so as I followed the instructions, the first step is obviously rooting the Milestone, so I simply copied OpenRecovery to the memory card while my Milestone was connected to my PC. The weird thing is, when I opened "My Computer", I didn't see my memory card. Instead, I see "Milestone", so I opened it and then I see my memory card "Removeable Storage". I opened it again and here's the actual weird part, there're 2 files stored in it, called:
DevIcon
DevLogo
At first, I didn't think it was a problem because I thought they were just some dummy file or something. Also, the memory card is empty other than those 2 files. So after copying OpenRecovery to it and rooting it successfully, I then proceed to copy the CM7 custom rom file to the memory card. But this time, I still see the same thing. I don't see my OpenRecovery folder on it at all, there're no other files other than those 2 files on it. I tried Unmount and Mount in the SD Card settings, also unplugging my USB cable and re-plugging back in but it's the same. In fact, after 'Unmounting' the memory card, I couldn't even access it on "My Computer", as nothing shows up after I open "Milestone". Only 'Mounting' works, but again I only see those 2 files and nothing else.
HOWEVER, I then tried to take out the memory card and use my own microSD card reader, and bam I can see all the files on it, such as OpenRecovery and even the nanDroid backup that I made while following the instructions on that guide. So this is weird, why can't I access or see the contents on my memory card while the phone is connected to the PC??
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
chaoscreater said:
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way to revert to stock will be to flash an sbf for your region that will wipe everything. They have those sbf's on and-developers.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
chaoscreater said:
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. when you're phone will not start anymore, it's good to have one before every new flash cause you never now what's gonna happen.
2. funny thing is i know where New Zealand is (not near Europe) . about the baseband ... yes every sbf has the region specific baseband 's (you cant flash a radio only change baseband 's).
baseband can be found on dexter's (http://dext3r.komodin.org/) page but they are already included in OR (not sure about fufu's). i can't be very precise because i don't remember.
custom rom's don't think they change baseband 's, (the .zip ones)
Ya ur right, NZ is not anywhere near Europe lol
but I did do some research on which SBF I needed before I flashed it, and I found out that the Europe SBF works for NZ as well, it was mentioned somewhere I can't remember.
About the baseband, I'm still a little bit confused. First off, I already know that you can change the baseband under OpenRecovery. The thing is, there are no options to change the baseband to New Zealand, so which one should I pick? Also, here's the part I'm confused about. You said that the baseband are region specific, and yet we can choose the baseband we want in OpenRecovery.
So since I flashed the SBF for Europe, what will happen if I then change the baseband to say Argentina (one of the options under OpenRecovery)? Will it crash or something?? I don't even know what baseband i'm using right now, I haven't changed anything, I only flashed the SBF for Europe and that's it. I can still go online using 2G/3G and txt no problem, but I'm just not sure if the baseband i'm using is suppose to be correct for New Zealand or not...
BTW just another side question (sorry I'm really new to the Android scene!):
I've found a few custom roms that doesn't use the current kernel we have for Milestone. As far as I know, the bootloader for Milestone is locked, therefore we can't properly flash a custom rom onto it, as well as replacing the kernel as well. So what I'm confused with is, if some of these custom roms don't use the current kernel on the system, then how does it work? Does it use its own kernel, and if so then shouldn't that replace the system's own kernel before it can be used??
Here's one of the custom rom topic where I read from, in case ur wondering:
This is the Froyo FRG22 image for our Milestone. but as this is not using the kernel, there are some limit to functions based on kernel requirement. But its close, and works great and is alot faster.
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
chaoscreater said:
About the baseband
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changing baseband's that are not supported by your network op will lead to no signal whatsoever.. i don't remember if there is a problem with only data. try other baseband, in theory it will not crash anything, so do a nandroid backup before
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
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that is an old post from "25th July 2010, 05:52 AM" moto started to leak kernel from January 2011 give or take a month, so back then froyo was used with the eclair kernel. kernel from milestone was never changed to other than moto signed, only modules loaded at an early stage, thanks to kabaldan/nadlabak and other if exists
custom roms =
moto kernel
kernel modules (this helps on overclock , app2ext ... others)
mods to system files, apps
hope you understand cause i don't know if i make it clear at the end of the post
edit:
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
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i doesn't make any sense, you will end up with no memory , only kernel remains, other things gets rewritten.
Code:
http://www.vodafone.co.nz/roaming/welcome-to-nz.jsp
this get out of what i know. with the frequencies,
basebands/frequency i have 900/1800
for data check if there is a problem with your apn settings
I see, thanks for your thorough explanation
Ya I know that changing my baseband will probably give me better signals, but I'm asking which one is best for Vodafone NZ because there isn't a baseband for New Zealand.
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings? Don't worry that's been solved already. I flashed to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF and now it's working very stable. But like I said, after flashing to that I now have problems with connecting to my operator whenever I switch to 2G. However, 3G works fine so there's no problem with that.
BTW, I have another problem. After flashing to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF, I couldn't access my OpenRecovery anymore. I didn't delete or change any files on my memory card, so if I could access OpenRecovery and root my device as well as flash a custom rom when I was still on Froyo, then why can't I do it again when I flash to Eclair?
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmation so I know that it is indeed the case.
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmatio
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true story . it should say something about eocd marker and fail.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698059
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings?
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sorry... i don't know, last night i thought i read something else, about working 3g and 2g not ..must be the skittles... to much rainbow
i suggest finding out what country baseband are similar to New Zealand and flash/apply that one )
i was thinking since the razr ics update will have a signed kernel and it will be able to pass through the bootloader if we could use the razr ics update(since its like our roms all cross platform due to same processor,resolutions) and mod it a little so there is no 4G or webtop and change the device name to D3/solana then flash it as an update instead of a zip in recovery/fastboot like as if it was an OTA update that we sideload. we may have to return to stock to do this, or use otaroot keeper? i dont know if it will need to be re signed after changing things. but since this is an official kernel and the zip has a path motorola made it may get passed our bootloader if the unlock process is the same for all phones.
also maybe someone with a RAZR can use adb and see the commands during the update process to see if the phone spits out any lines of code when it opens the bootloader to replace the kernel?
I'm guessing it won't work as the kernel is signed only for that device and not the d3. Not to mention hw differences.
Sent from my XT862 using xda premium
the cameras are the same, they both have the same processors just razr is .2 ghz faster and running a little version different, the way they use the camcorder is the same, and the way they run flash player/hardware accelleration is the same. if we can trick the GB kernel to run the roms we have now then tricking the phone to use the razr kernel could be easy given we can get it passed the bootloader securely. once its passed the BL hashcode can get codecs to take a little easier since we will have the ability to run the DEV- ION drivers instead of getting ducati to decode and re code them for the GB kernel.
this may be worth a try instead of everyone saying "oh that wont work," then waiting god knows how long until hash gets the codecs to work, or motorola might just update up in 3-6 months. it might be a sloppy thing but it may work
double post
I doubt it'll work. The keys used to sign the Droid 3's kernel and the Razr's kernel are different. It would be just as hard (and really, afaik, impossible) to get our devices to run the Razr's kernel than it would be for us to get it to run any other kernel we can make/compile.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA
Keep brow beating Motorola, they "promised" unlock, blah, blah, blah
If we don't push though you'll never get anything.
im hoping hashcode gets the codecs working by may/june, if not then ill just go pick up a used D4/razr since they should be 100% on it by then or maybe a gnex off CL for 300 i really want to keep the d3 though.
It may work if we package the kernel into the ICS rom by hash or flash it separately. But who knows how much work it may take for that to happen. Also some DROID 3s may not be able to run that .2ghz faster so we have to tone that back. It maybe be simpler to port over razr ICS codecs
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
saintlikesniper said:
It may work if we package the kernel into the ICS rom by hash or flash it separately. But who knows how much work it may take for that to happen. Also some DROID 3s may not be able to run that .2ghz faster so we have to tone that back. It maybe be simpler to port over razr ICS codecs
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
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This what will likely happen
Sent from my XT862 using xda premium
I could be mistaken here, but it is my understanding that the kernel acts as a sort of intermediate between the phone's hardware and OS. Seeing as how the RAZR lacks a physical keyboard, there could likely be some very pertinent information missing in it's kernel that is needed in order for the D3 keyboard to be usable. If this is the case, we would probably be better off attempting to utilize an ICS leak for the D4.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
Full disclosure: I'm not a dev. My eyes glaze over the second someone mentions compiling or code.
That being said, I feel that at this point, maybe these types of off-the-wall ideas might be valuable. Even if the OP wasn't 100% on the right track, maybe that will light a fire in a more capable person's head.
mikedyk43 said:
I could be mistaken here, but it is my understanding that the kernel acts as a sort of intermediate between the phone's hardware and OS. Seeing as how the RAZR lacks a physical keyboard, there could likely be some very pertinent information missing in it's kernel that is needed in order for the D3 keyboard to be usable. If this is the case, we would probably be better off attempting to utilize an ICS leak for the D4.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
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see thats the thing, our ICS roms werent programmed to utilize a hard keyboard either (sourced on the Gnex) so we can have that fixed. what im getting at is the razr, bionic, D4 and D3 run the same OMAP 4430 processor with the same efuse so it should be the same key for the bootloader. when we package the signed bootloader with either a modded RAZR rom to remove 4G and webtop and/or rename the phone id then resign it OR package the signed kernel in our ics roms then *flash as a manual update* it may get passed the bootloader. since the EFUSE looks for official firmware, the razr ics rom is signed by moto and the kernel has the efuse keys attatched (for OMAP 4430) so it may let it in. we would need root access in the rom to do changes (freeze/delete webtop) etc. we also need to wait for a reliable flashable zip of the razr rom since the only way to get it is a fatal way(cheesecake). BUT this is the deal, if we do this this will totally take you off the upgrade path if there is even one anymore, so an SBF back to 2.3.4 will need to happen in case of anything.
Tyfighter said:
Full disclosure: I'm not a dev. My eyes glaze over the second someone mentions compiling or code.
That being said, I feel that at this point, maybe these types of off-the-wall ideas might be valuable. Even if the OP wasn't 100% on the right track, maybe that will light a fire in a more capable person's head.
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hashcode is more than capable of doing this its just a matter of if hes brave enough to try since hes tried everything else and we havent heard anything about codecs in awhile.
A few things
1). Signed. This means you can't edit it, change it, modify it or do anything with it...and it has to be signed for your device. Razr kernel will not be usable, nor will a Droid 4 when it comes out later.
2). Our D3 ICS CM9 rom is not built off the GNex ROM, it's built from source (AOSP) modified by CyanogenMod team and then further modified by Hashcode. Hashcode is modifying it to work with the D3 Gingerbread Kernel and that is why the hardware keyboard works.
3). Unless Motorola releases an ICS kernel/Rom for the D3.....OR Motorola releases an unlocker for the bootloader......the best will see is a modified source built ROM running on the stock Gingerbread kernel.
I'm not going to list someone hacking/cracking the D3 bootloader signing key, etc.... While it's entirely possible.......the Droid 2, Droid X have still not been cracked....and they've been out how long now?
We can run something like Hashcode's CM9 ICS and enjoy it and hope that Hashcode can get as much out of it as possible.......running on top of the Gingerbread kernel.....other than that it's just going to be hoping/waiting for Motorola to do something.
T
saintlikesniper said:
It may work if we package the kernel into the ICS rom by hash or flash it separately. But who knows how much work it may take for that to happen. Also some DROID 3s may not be able to run that .2ghz faster so we have to tone that back. It maybe be simpler to port over razr ICS codecs
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
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The problem we run into (i messed with this idea a bit) is that /boot wont allow unsigned code, the file containing the kernel needs to be flashed to /boot and is signed by motorola so it cant be tampered with and is also signed with a product code allowing it to only be flashed on that model. We cant changed the model # in the file without altering the signature so the phone wont accept the flash anyways. As for flashing it along with hashcodes rom, i think thats what theyre trying to do with kexec (this seems to be the most likely way we have to get custom kernels running on any bootloader locked phones). The problem with kexec (it's an app that loads you into an alternate kernel after the first kernel has booted, it's like a handover) is that our kernels have to have kexec support compiled into them right now by motorola for it to work(not sure theyve done this). Really, without a bootloader unlock or kernel upgrade by motorola (meaning ics and a 3.0+ kernel signed for our phones) i think we're stuck with what we're doing atm.
Perhaps we could do something like move the /boot partition to somewhere else but i imagine it's been tried and moving /boot to a partition on internal storage or something probably just causes the phone to not boot at all.
Willis111 said:
T
The problem we run into (i messed with this idea a bit) is that /boot wont allow unsigned code, the file containing the kernel needs to be flashed to /boot and is signed by motorola so it cant be tampered with and is also signed with a product code allowing it to only be flashed on that model. We cant changed the model # in the file without altering the signature so the phone wont accept the flash anyways. As for flashing it along with hashcodes rom, i think thats what theyre trying to do with kexec (this seems to be the most likely way we have to get custom kernels running on any bootloader locked phones). The problem with kexec (it's an app that loads you into an alternate kernel after the first kernel has booted, it's like a handover) is that our kernels have to have kexec support compiled into them right now by motorola for it to work(not sure theyve done this). Really, without a bootloader unlock or kernel upgrade by motorola (meaning ics and a 3.0+ kernel signed for our phones) i think we're stuck with what we're doing atm.
Perhaps we could do something like move the /boot partition to somewhere else but i imagine it's been tried and moving /boot to a partition on internal storage or something probably just causes the phone to not boot at all.
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i dont understand why we cant completely wipe the phone of the data/rom AND bootloader and create a custom bootloader.
I think that would be eFuse and harder than it sounds entirely. Again may be easier to port razr codecs when it becomes available. Which should be soon according to speculation
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
Willis111 said:
T
The problem we run into (i messed with this idea a bit) is that /boot wont allow unsigned code, the file containing the kernel needs to be flashed to /boot and is signed by motorola so it cant be tampered with and is also signed with a product code allowing it to only be flashed on that model. We cant changed the model # in the file without altering the signature so the phone wont accept the flash anyways. As for flashing it along with hashcodes rom, i think thats what theyre trying to do with kexec (this seems to be the most likely way we have to get custom kernels running on any bootloader locked phones). The problem with kexec (it's an app that loads you into an alternate kernel after the first kernel has booted, it's like a handover) is that our kernels have to have kexec support compiled into them right now by motorola for it to work(not sure theyve done this). Really, without a bootloader unlock or kernel upgrade by motorola (meaning ics and a 3.0+ kernel signed for our phones) i think we're stuck with what we're doing atm.
Perhaps we could do something like move the /boot partition to somewhere else but i imagine it's been tried and moving /boot to a partition on internal storage or something probably just causes the phone to not boot at all.
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We actually don't need Motorola to have compiled kexec in (fully, at least. I think there has to be some basic support there, which there might be). As long as we can load kernel modules (which I believe we can) we could create our own and run that. The problem with kexec, though, is that it drops kernel communications with the radio for long enough for the radio to think the phone has shut down or errored or something, and it will shut itself off. So, upon loading into the new kernel, the phone will have no radio, and the only way to reinitialize it is to go through the bootloader process again, which would mean we couldn't have an unsigned kernel. It would be nice if there was a way to communicate to the radio that the kernel wasn't actually shutting off yet or if there was a way to reboot the radio after switching kernels, but sadly there isn't (as far as I know).
I say we all put our computing power together to crack Motorola's private key that they signed the kernel with, [email protected] style.
</semi-sarcasm>
Edit: Okay, actually being productive here... is the radio image signed? Because we could use kexec to load a new kernel, but modify the radio code so that it doesn't assume something horrible has happened when the kernel stops communicating with it.
ssinisterss said:
i dont understand why we cant completely wipe the phone of the data/rom AND bootloader and create a custom bootloader.
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Because even a fully wiped phone will only accept files that are signed by motorola.
I believe the only way we can see a custom kernel is using the method some guy (i forgot who) has been able to kinda do. He's on the Razrs forums and he was able to get a custom kernel running on his phone. Unfortuantly this kernel can only use 1 out of the 2 cores, so it is not done yet. From what I remember he gets the phone to boot with the stock kernel and then has his kernel installed over it. I think the boot up process takes a little bit longer but it is a small price to pay for customization.
Flashing the Razrs ICS is futile. The only thing we can do is maybe kang some prop settings and apks. That's about it. We'd have a better chance with the Bionic, but it's still unlikley it will help anything.