So... A buddy of mine at work got a replacement OG Droid because his was having issues, he asked me to root it and ended up giving me his old one. The far right side of the screen is unresponsive to touch in portrait (and the top in landscape with keyboard open) and it is a bit old but it still stays stable at 1000mhz+ so far on the ChevyNo1 kernels. Now, I don't plan on activating it as my main phone because of a few of the underlying issues the phone currently has (and the fact that I'm currently working on ROMs for my main phone, the LG Ally), but I would love to have an extra android device around the house/at work to play with and use via wifi.
I guess what I'm asking is, what cool things should I do to it/with it? And can you guys recommend some good ROMs/kernels for me to play around with? I don't really care if they are Gingerbread or Froyo, I just want to go crazy flashing ROMs on this thing since I won't really care if I brick it
Thanks a bunch in advance
Hand it to some developer so he can try new 'dangerous' features
Unfortunately, i didnt find all information gathered in here... and im not quite sure about the replies i've seen about my questions that will follow (custom roms, etc...)
I'm planning by new week, to purchase this cellphone... so i'll need some information about stock.
I made a search in here, but replies, opinions seem to me complicated because one says this and the other one says that... unfortunately, not too much time free.
I want you to help me, according to your opinion and type down advantages / disadvantages of this phone if you can.
Thanks a lot in advance.
I bought my P970 last week, I had a Motorola Milestone before that has finally died. Overall, its a nice phone, good specs, good performance, very nice screen.
The stock roms are rock solid stable, no crashes, reboots or problems all week. They are loaded with lots of bloatware, but thats easy enough to get rid of.
My only real complaint is the battery life. If your a heavy user (like me), a single charge won't last all day. Mid to light use should be fine.
I haven't tried a custom rom yet, so I can't comment.
If you can get one for a good price, yes, I'd recommed it.
There's no need for opening new thread.
Lg Optimus P970, a great buy??
Please, keep these forums clean...
Thread closed
Seems the discussion is over here.
Hi all. Just got this phone (LG Optimus 2X) a few days ago but after reading all the mixed reviews on it and the problems people are having with it I'm not sure if it's a good one to have. The constant crashing of some of the apps is the first thing I noticed. Then the shockingly short battery life (just over 13 hours on a full charge WITHOUT using the phone at all,brightness all the way down,fewer apps)... This is my first "smart phone" ever and I don't know anything about stuff like ROM,flashing,rooting... which means I can't mess with the phone at this point. I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy S II T989 AWS+850 3G, S II 727 skyrocket or S II AWS and I'm wondering if they're better phones. I'm with Windmobile (Canada) and running Android 2.2. I only have a couple of days to make a decision (keep it or exchange it for something different). Any advice?
To be fair to LG, they make decent hardware but their software are like s**t!
Anyway, the very least... Root... Custom Kernel... if you not comfortable with custom rom, then you can skip custom rom first.
At this point, I feel any other phone is better than 2x... Simply because Nvidia and LG are not working well together.
If you still have the chance, I'd recommend you to just send it back and get a better phone. The phone's hardware is decent (not the best), but LG's and Nvidia's support just doesn't cut it.
If you consider the S2 as an option, you'd just better go with it.
Thank you guys for the replies. It's becoming obvious to me the Samsung S2 is a better phone -although not by much- but the thing is, with the LG I didn't have to pay anything while the Samsung is going to cost a couple hundred or so (cant remember exactly) and I don't know if it's worth it for me since I'm not really crazy about having the best smart phones out there. I'm thinking if the LG can at least be reliable I'm ok with it. Like I said, I don't know anything about all these mods you can do to your phone but do they really make a difference?
Also, I tried to update to 2.3 but kept getting "phone has latest version..." message although it's running 2.2 currently.
Install the latest ginger bread. 20Q. its excellent compared with original stock. though you have to root it...
vainqueur said:
At this point, I feel any other phone is better than 2x... Simply because Nvidia and LG are not working well together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the first part - I beg to differ. Our phone just got to the point when we can say that it is a good phone, with good software. Using latest official 20q or better yet, customized versions. And there is CM also.
Yes, battery can last enough with everything working just fine, with some updating or flashing various upgrades.
But it took us almost a year to get here. Because nVidia screwed us with not being involved at all, on that we all agree.
We have bought several ones as early adaptors but we have a lot of problems or had in the past... There are a lot of better phones out there it's a relieve to say goodbye after a year of use.
The latest great thing is the phone shutdown after a message saying almost empty battery lol and after a restart the percentage is 65% Most buggy software and a gingerbread update based on the froyo kernel...
Sent from my new discovered phone huh... via Tapatalk
Thanks again for the replies and sharing your opinions.
Supupa, the problem is I have no clue what "rooting", "flashing", "CM".... mean or how it's done. I'm sure with time and some reading and asking I'll be able to learn some of that stuff. The first thing I tried to do was to update the Android version to 2.3 but for whatever reason it didn't want to. I'm mostly concerned about the appalling battery life. A mere 14 hours on a full charge with no use (of the phone) is unacceptable no matter how good a phone is. I am going to take a second look at the Galaxy S II tomorrow and see if I can live with the cheap build.
I don't know, but to me a smart phone with bugs can't be that smart.
I would not buy it again. The hardware is very good, but the software is crap.
Best thing you can do right now is to:
1. download latest firmware: http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/swdata/WEBSW/LGP990/AITADW/V20q_00/V20Q_00.kdz (found here)
2. follow one of the guides for flashing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1327929
This will update everything so you don't have to bother with baseband and RIL right now. And give it a try. If it runs good enough keep it and/or customize it, if not, well...
edit: but wait! Isn't that really LG G2x or P-999 in Wind mobile? If it is, youre in the wrong forum (G2x is here) and that update will make a mess. It's not the same phone although it looks identical. Go to settings > about phone, scroll down and see what it says there. Or make a screenshot and attach it here.
Dac0908 said:
For the first part - I beg to differ. Our phone just got to the point when we can say that it is a good phone, with good software. Using latest official 20q or better yet, customized versions. And there is CM also.
Yes, battery can last enough with everything working just fine, with some updating or flashing various upgrades.
But it took us almost a year to get here. Because nVidia screwed us with not being involved at all, on that we all agree.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Dac0908,
The phone's hardware is good, the software is ****.
And now the developers @ XDA Have so much good ROMS and now even ICS for us to say that it is a good phone again.
And the battery performance can be increased at a huge rate with a different kernel.
My phone's battery record of staying alive is 86 hours, just saying!
lg O2x v20q with spica1234 kernel sr3+pp10.Excellent
Dac0908 said:
Best thing you can do right now is to:
1. download latest firmware: http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/swdata/WEBSW/LGP990/AITADW/V20q_00/V20Q_00.kdz (found here)
2. follow one of the guides for flashing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1327929
This will update everything so you don't have to bother with baseband and RIL right now. And give it a try. If it runs good enough keep it and/or customize it, if not, well...
edit: but wait! Isn't that really LG G2x or P-999 in Wind mobile? If it is, youre in the wrong forum (G2x is here) and that update will make a mess. It's not the same phone although it looks identical. Go to settings > about phone, scroll down and see what it says there. Or make a screenshot and attach it here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, Dac. My phone is the P999 actually. Anyway, I have to return the phone tomorrow because I think it's defective. I've only had it for a few days and only 4 minutes of talk time but the phone keeps disconnecting itself from service and keeps displaying the message "Emergency only". I've talked to the technical support 3 times already and went one time to the store where I bought but only a few hours after we "fix" the problem it comes back and I lose connection. The phone also kept switching between Wind Home and Wind Away on its own even though I was sitting at home. I was watching Youtube and suddenly the screen went completely black and I had to shut the phone off to get the screen to work again. I have no doubt this particular phone is DEFECTIVE. Very bad start. My Sony Ericsson 580 has been working without a glitch whatsoever since I bought it in Feb '08 and the battery still gives me the same exact time it did when it was brand new.
I don't know if I'll be having the same problems if I get another similar LG 2X. I like the phone but the problems I'm having with mine and what I've learned about this phone in the past few days make me wanna steer away from it now. I really want to give the LG O2X a try but I don't know.
Tough luck, can happen to any brand or model
Well it's not a bad phone. Most of software glitches are fixed now, community is strong, and for that price I don't think you can get something better. I'm talking about market prices, not subsidized by carriers of course.
S2 is in higher price class: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_r_vs_lg_optimus_2x-review-713.php but it's a free world... well, sort of.
Thanks, Dac. Yeah I know. It's electronics. Didn't get a chance to go to the store today. I'll go tomorrow and decide if I'm going to keep this phone or get a Samsung. If I keep it and figure out how to do all the things that can be done to make it a better phone I hope it would be reliable for at least a couple of years.
LG optimus 2X was the cheepest dual core high-end phone I could find on a second hand market in my country. Of course I flashed CM7 (I'm on a Temasek's latest KANG) and my phone is rock stable and very fast. I'm using ADW EX launcher btw. I can only sugest to the OP to invest some time in exploring how to get ROOT and how to flash custom rom because that will be usefull regardless of which android phone you have. It is actually very hard to truly "brick" your phone, I've had a broken connection wih a PC in the middle of flashing a custom rom with ODIN on my old Samsung Spica because of bad drivers and I still managed to get my phone working easily
FaceTheSlayer said:
LG optimus 2X was the cheepest dual core high-end phone I could find on a second hand market in my country. Of course I flashed CM7 (I'm on a Temasek's latest KANG) and my phone is rock stable and very fast. I'm using ADW EX launcher btw. I can only sugest to the OP to invest some time in exploring how to get ROOT and how to flash custom rom because that will be usefull regardless of which android phone you have. It is actually very hard to truly "brick" your phone, I've had a broken connection wih a PC in the middle of flashing a custom rom with ODIN on my old Samsung Spica because of bad drivers and I still managed to get my phone working easily
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man!! It keeps getting more and more complicated. I have no idea what "bricking" is, ADW launcher,... So many things that I don't know anything about.
Looks like the only other decent phone I can get on Windtab is the Samsung Nexus. It's $250 while the LG is free. I'm assuming the Nexus is better than the LG but It looks ugly with that stupid curve and it feels really cheap.So, I don't know. I'm still deciding, but is the Nexus worth the money?
I was sorta in the same boat as you last week, (choosing between the Galaxy S, P990 and the Galaxy S2.).
1. The Galaxy S (with flashed rom and kernel) was already an awesome phone which could do anything you wanted, and during my short usage I found the P990 either equal (smoothness, gps fix speed) or even better (camera, wifi/3g connection strength, HDMI without $50 cable).
2. Flashing (= installing) new and better software is a piece of cake for this phone. Now I know you're new so it might not look as a piece of cake to you, but in physical steps it boils down to:
How to Root your phone. (= Give yourself full access to the phone)
1. Install software "LG United Mobile Driver 3.6" (use google) on pc.
2. Install software "SuperOneClick" (use google) on pc.
3. Connect phone to pc, then click "Root" in "SuperOneClick"
Done
How to Install custom firmware/rom/kernel
Assuming you have an external microSD card inserted.
1. Install CWM Recovery
Go to android market (on phone) and download ROM Manager. In ROM Manager choose "install/flash ClockWorkMod (CWM) Recovery
2. Download any new ROM you wish to install from this forum and put it anywhere on the phone.
3. Enter CWM Recovery mode
(When the phone is off: hold Volume Down and Power buttons. The white LG logo will come up, keep holding. Let go when the LG logo suddenly gets a blue background. Note: If you hold these buttons without succesfully installing CWM (step 1), then you will factory reset your phone and it will reboot again.
The following steps are covered in every thread on ROMs, every rom maker includes instructions on how to flash (=install) their ROMs. Yet in about 9.9 of 10 cases it boils down to:
4. In CWM Recovery, go to "Backup and Restore", and make a Nandroid backup. (You need an external microSD for this).
Move the cursor in CWM Recovery with the volume buttons and enter with the power key.
5. Do a factory reset. (Wipe Data, Wipe Cache)
Yes this will wipe your apps, appdata, messages and contacts so have that backed up if you want, but since you have a new phone, you won't have anything to save. It will not delete anything that wasn't in the Data folder, such as photo's/music.
6. Then go to "Install ZIP from SD card". Browse to the downloaded ROM (step 2), select it. It will install, will take about 1 minute. That's it. Reboot.
You can choose from ROMs based on official LG android, or totally rebuilt from scratch such as CyanogenMod (CM7), or based on CM7. ROMs with a CM7 base will look significantly different from stock roms, and subjectively I'd say these are the better roms to look at as they've been more developed. You can find CM7 roms because they have the [CM7] tag in the thread title in the Optimus 2X Development forum.
Now read more guides on how to do it (because I may have forgotten something), I just wanted to give you a basic overview of what's waiting for you. Enjoy!
As per what you pay, its the best
Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk
Hey guys,
I think it's great that you're trying to help our friend Electroman here... but please keep one thing in mind, the ROMs in this section are for P990. Electroman, if you try to flash your P999 with a ROM for P990 you will risk bricking your phone. (Bricking your phone is basically turning your phone into a brick... or paper weight) So please proceed with caution.
Despite going through several threads here and somewhat failing on easy rooting, found a one-click via YouTube, MotoFail_Windows something or other I believe it was. Seems simple enough.
However, in looking through Android Development here for this device, there doesn't appear to be many ROMs, am I missing something? Had no idea so much effort would be spent making this phone work for GSM folks. Any and all help for a newbie D4 owner who has every intention on rooting/flashing/tethering in the very near future is MUCH appreciated.
DNak206 said:
Despite going through several threads here and somewhat failing on easy rooting, found a one-click via YouTube, MotoFail_Windows something or other I believe it was. Seems simple enough.
However, in looking through Android Development here for this device, there doesn't appear to be many ROMs, am I missing something? Had no idea so much effort would be spent making this phone work for GSM folks. Any and all help for a newbie D4 owner who has every intention on rooting/flashing/tethering in the very near future is MUCH appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is pretty easy. I would recommend using jsnweitzel's Droid 4 Utility. Super easy to use.
Unfortunately you're not missing something in regard to ROM development. It's really fallen off here recently. Best thing to do currently is probably update your D4 to the most current Moto ICS leak. The CM9 and AOKP builds for the leaks are fairly stable. If you don't want to go that route I would recommend myfishbear's Eclipse port for GB.
The good news is it sounds like hashcode (main D4 dev) is getting closer to getting us up and running with the kexec kernel exploit that will allow custom kernels. Hopefully, once that gets going, ROM development will pick back up.
DNak206 said:
Had no idea so much effort would be spent making this phone work for GSM folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There really are no good GSM QWERTY phones out there right now. There's a couple of Blackberry-style ones which are awful and the Sony Xperia Mini which is also awful. Both have tiny keyboards. Most GSM QWERTY people seem to be hanging onto their old HTC Desire Z (which you will know as the T-Mobile G2) or coming here and getting a Droid 4. There really aren't any other options.
For US folk wanting custom ROMs. The process is actually the same as getting GSM support, root, flash the latest ICS leak, install safestrap, install either AOKP or CM9. You can follow my guide for getting GSM to work since it's actually the same process.
I've added to the OP instructions for putting AOKP or CM9 on there, both of them are the same low level stuff, produced by Hashcode, with the ROM-specific framework grafted on top.
Awesome input, thanks guys (and gal). Unfortunately the kid trying to sell it apparently was unaware the phone was active in his "brothers" name. This is of course after calling Verizon to make sure the phone was clean. $280 in the box, my instincts should've kicked in but the kid actually seemed sincere. Ah well, still keeping my eyes peeled and will eventually get one so this is helpful info. Thanks again.
I realise, this forum is kinda old... so here are my questions. I hope someone still can help me:
(I'll get my moms old Optimus Black.)
What I need: a stable, fast phone what simply works
What is the easiest way to achieve this goal?
Do I even have to root it?
Should I stock update and then root und clean it a bit?
Should I flash another stock version and root it?
Should I use a custom rom? Which one? (Dont hate me for this question)
cheers
Moto_G_Lucifer said:
I realise, this forum is kinda old... so here are my questions. I hope someone still can help me:
(I'll get my moms old Optimus Black.)
What I need: a stable, fast phone what simply works
What is the easiest way to achieve this goal?
Do I even have to root it?
Should I stock update and then root und clean it a bit?
Should I flash another stock version and root it?
Should I use a custom rom? Which one? (Dont hate me for this question)
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OB is a little long-in-the-tooth. Just look at the news and read about all of the security issues with older Android OSes. Hardware-wise, most of these OB phones are starting to fail (for the Android world, the OB has had a LONG life).
For the OB, anything after Gingerbread (2.3-4 - 2.3.7) has "problems"; ICS was nothing but a headache, and later custom ROMs (JB & KK) worked, but had issues related to the lack of updated drivers. JB and KK ROMs also seem to have poor battery life.
I don't know what part of the world you live in, but in the US you can get a pre-paid $80-100 StraightTalk (Walmart) or Net10 phone, pay about $45-50 per month for service. I'm seeing an LG Sunset with Android 5.0 for $99 on the StraightTalk website. The Sunset is faster, offers more features and security, and has a larger display.
Amazon has many unlocked GSM phones for cheap as well; I'd just look for KK or higher.
If you're completely "stuck" with the OB, and you want stability and everything to work, I'd look at Marvel 9 with the "There is no delay" patch. Dump the included Messaging app, and replace it with something like TextSecure. You can still probably download a functioning version of Lightning Browser or Naked Browser from the Play Store, although the Webkit (that almost all Browsers use) for GB has many security holes.
I keep my OB around solely as a "spare"; if I ever break or lose my current Android phone, I have a short-term (VERY) fallback until I can get a newer replacement. My OB is running as described above with Marvel 9.
That's true.
A few weeks ago, i've put my Optimus Black in the "closet of time".
Its box, set of hands free, charger ... served for good, since November 2011 as far as i remember.
Up to last year, battery is alright, sreen also ... no scratches at the front, despite i've never used a protective case or anything (and i never will)...
Everything okay, except the too old hardware, which limited funcionality A LOT.
You cannot run newer applications that fast, it was started to getting a game of patience. Even facebook messenger and decent GPS apps were getting slow to a nerve breaking point.
Tossed it on my closet or old hardware satsified and went for a new one of the same price range.
I'll be glad if my new one (4core, 4,5" screen) will last the same.