[Q] Need advice/help with ROMs for Razr - Motorola Droid RAZR

I am kind of confused and not sure what to do now. I have rooted my Razr Max but I am a little timid and haven't jumped off the cliff yet into the world of Custom Roms.
I don't understand the difference between ICS and GB. I figure that they are like the OS of the phone (as in WIN XP or WIN 7 is for a computer).
I also don't understand why I would want to change to a ROM that has issues (i.e. front facing camera or video camera doesn't work).
I am looking for something simple to change the look and feel of my phone until I get some experience under my belt. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

zandersn said:
I am kind of confused and not sure what to do now. I have rooted my Razr Max but I am a little timid and haven't jumped off the cliff yet into the world of Custom Roms.
I don't understand the difference between ICS and GB. I figure that they are like the OS of the phone (as in WIN XP or WIN 7 is for a computer).
I also don't understand why I would want to change to a ROM that has issues (i.e. front facing camera or video camera doesn't work).
I am looking for something simple to change the look and feel of my phone until I get some experience under my belt. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roms give extras and a less bogged down system (debloated) which means all the useless apps are gone, I'm currently running eclipse because the custom roms that run ics have data issues since their a newer version of the os running on a older kernel. For a rom your going to want safe strap, there's usually install instructions on the first post of all roms.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA

Thanks
prsterero said:
Roms give extras and a less bogged down system (debloated) which means all the useless apps are gone, I'm currently running eclipse because the custom roms that run ics have data issues since their a newer version of the os running on a older kernel. For a rom your going to want safe strap, there's usually install instructions on the first post of all roms.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in you opinion eclipse would be a good Tom to check out for a first time flash. If I understand correctly eclipse is a gingerbread product. Is that right? So is gingerbread better than ICS? Have you ever tried CM9 or MIMU? (I might have spelled it wrong.)

There are a lot of options out there. READ, READ, READ. ASK QUESTIONS!!!! Pm me with any you have and I will do my best to help you out.
The one thing I can say is until you understand what you are found, stay away from leaks. Some you cannot return from. My best advice from the start is learn in this order:
1. Learn to use rsd lite and get the files to fast boot back to .173 or.181 so you can recover if anything goes wrong.
2. Look at the features of the available roms and pick one that appeals to you.
3. Research whether cwm or safe strap work better with the rom.
4. Rinse and repeat.
Just remember, read and ask questions and you will be fine.
Sent from my XT912 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

You're correct: Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich are code names for different major versions of Android.
A ROM (not really a ROM, but that's another discussion) is based on a stock release, and modified to get rid of trash like the Blockbuster app, make performance changes, and generally provide a better experience.
For best results, you should use ROMs (grr) that are based on the same vendor release of Android as what you currently use. For 6.12.173 (aka 173), or 181, the Eclipse ROM (grr) works better than stock.
However, if all you want to do is explore different look/feel settings, try some of the free "launcher" apps on Google Play eg, "Go Launcher Ex", "ADW Launcher", "Launcher Pro". These will dramatically change the look/feel of your device, with no risk at all (aside from a lot of time spent re-re-re-laying out the icons).
Enjoy

Related

[Q] Official Gingerbread ROM?

Hi,
I just bought a vibrant from ebay and waiting anxiously for it to arrive.
Meanwhile I would like to check if the official GB rom is coming soon?
If not, I will like to seek your advice a good ROM that you will recommend newbies to flash.
Thanks!
CyanogenMod 7 is pretty amazing if you are looking for a good gingerbread ROM
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
MIUI or CM 7 but it still in Beta some bugs and no GPS
But there a lots of Great 2.2 Froyo Roms for vibrant
Hope that Helps
If you're a true noob who's not flashed a lot before I would suggest any of the 2.2.1 roms. They are all functional and a bit better than 2.2. The only thing you'll lose is wifi calling which is a huge battery drain anyway.
Right now the gingerbread roms don't have working GPS and require a little bit more experience with flashing.
My teammate and I have the Simply Galaxy/Honey series. 2.8 is very fast and stable and its 2.2.1. Team EDT also puts out quality work and you can always count on their roms to be fast and stable as well.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
yah stick with 2.2 or 2.2.1 until u get experienced enough for cm7 or other gb roms! So id listen to explodingboy70
Thanks for all the advice! You are wonderful guys!
One more thing, will Samsung update the vibrant with an official GB rom?
I read that some said it could be done through Kies?
nhc said:
Hi,
I just bought a vibrant from ebay and waiting anxiously for it to arrive.
Meanwhile I would like to check if the official GB rom is coming soon?
If not, I will like to seek your advice a good ROM that you will recommend newbies to flash.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply honey 2.3.3 gb.By far the best gb for the vibrant.flawless, and easy install.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
At this point we don't know when and if we're getting an official gingerbread from T-mobile. Samsung released gingerbread for the international version only - the GT-I9000. It is not completely identical to the Vibrant. It's up to the carriers when and if they release it and put their touches on it. Once Samsung releases some source code for Gingerbread, you'll see a huge jump in gingerbread development and improvements in those roms. Until then, stick to 2.2.1 like the others have said. I stick to team whiskey's roms, and every month or so I flash to a gingerbread rom for like a week to get a feel for it, then go back to 2.2.1 since I can't deal with the bugs in our GB roms for too long at once
Hi,
Finally my phone has arrived. Its already on Official 2.2 (I guessed) with Kernel Version 2.6.32.9 with build number FROYO.UVKA6.
If I want to remain like this for now (awaiting the official GB), what are the improvement that I can or should make to the phone with the current config?
eg. Voodoo , Other kernel, modem, rom?
I would give it a few days before you starting flashing etc etc. Get used to the phone with froyo, learns the ins and out of all the settings and stuff, will come in handy when you are ready to start playing.
If you haven't already, you should read the myriad of info in the vibrant bible, focusing on rooting, flashing and the things needed. I def would get a good handle on understanding programs like titanium, busy box and rom manager as all will eventually need to be used in one way shape or form.
To be honest, after my few days of learning the ropes, you should consider after learning the phones ins and outs, using ODIN to get back to 2.1 that normally comes with the vibrant (I am not 100% sure that all vibrants came with 2.1 stock, not sure if yours is the new model or outgoing model), rooting, installing titanium backup, busybox and rom manager and make a NANDROID backup of a nice clean OS so that should you run into issues flashing, you have an emergency back up to fall back on. I just did this over the past 2 days and it was a great learning experience.
I did my first rom flash today and was pretty cool, not as hard as I thought but really teaches you the ins and outs of all this cool stuff.
The ppl here were great in helping me and answering my questions, truly a great community.
My phone came with 2.1, then upgraded to 2.2, rooted and removed all the bloatware and never backed anything up. I then realized after help here, it was better to go back to 2.1, do all the right steps to root, install the right apps above, then make a nice clean emergency backup. It def will save your ass sooner or later.
With regards to changes, with my phone when it was at 2.2, I did alot to help improve battery life, I use a black wallpaper, I only turn on wifi when needed, I don't enable GPS at all. I set brightest via power widget to lowest unless in bright sun at which time, you can easily brighten it, you can change how quickly the screen goes dark, etc etc. There's alot of things you can do but since you just got the phone, you need to see how you're going to use it, in order to customize it.
Just my 2 from a beginner
Samsung won't say when or if a release of gb will actually come to US variants. I emailed them just the other day.
If you can live without GPS, then go with cyanogen mod
Sent from my badass Vibrant
I have been looking for a while and as usual with Samsung/T-Mobile the official word on GB is very deliberately vague.
I've been trying different ROMs and between my wife's Vibrant and mine, I have tried 5 ROMs so far.
Flashing some of the simpler Froyo ROMs is definitely easier and safer then jumping straight to CM7 or MIUI.
I would go with the earlier advice of getting familiar with your phone first and making sure you are comfortable with rebooting in recovery, wipe cache, etc.
One click root, back-up and re-install some apps so you are comfortable with all that.
Once you feel good, then try the simpler ROMs. TeamWhiskey - Nero is the first one I tried and it was easy to install and quite fast.
After that, went with Bionix.
Now I'm running SimpleHoney and on my wife's phone we are running DarkyRom 9.5.
All of these can be flashed through CWM which makes them simpler and safer.
Hope this helps! Enjoy your phone.
Sav
Thank you all for the replies. The advice and guidance are really much appreciated.
After one whole day fooling around, I finally managed to Root it and to install Simple Galaxy 2.8. I had some problems initially with the new 3e recovery from froyo causing unable to root problem. But I googled it and managed to workaround it.
I will play with the phone for a few more days before I decide if I want to go for the next level, GB
Go check out EDT's Asgard rom. Pretty slick.

[Q] Custom ROM

Hi All,
My wife is finally fed up being stuck on 2.1 and is looking for me to update her phone. I'm pretty familiar with the process on my phone (Droid X), but I know absolutely nothing about rooting and installing ROMs on this phone.
The instructions thread sticky'd here looks pretty self explanatory, but I imagine I might have some questions during it... but there is nothing I can do about that just yet.
A couple of questions.
1) Is there anything I should know that's not in that thread. A link to ODIN would be pretty nice since I have no clue what that is (guessing it's something like RDSLite).
2) What's the current favorite GB ROM? I'm thinking about putting her on something TW based, simply because of the amount of changes that could make it a harder transition for her. I figure I can pop Launcher Pro on and let her use the TW Dialer and other menus she's used to.
3) I know I'm going to sound crazy for contradicting myself above, but what's not working in CM7? I haven't put my X on CM7 because there are some things not working entirely, but I'd consider it depending on what's missing.
4) Since the X's bootloader is still locked, I have no experience flashing radios and kernels. I'm assuming these should be outlined pretty closely in whatever ROM I choose to install.
Any other general advice would be appreciated, I'd like to get this done either tonight or tomorrow.
Kind of on a random note, I thought she was supposed to be on at least 2.2 stock. She's still on 2.1 for some reason, and I could swear I read about a 2.2 update a while ago, which gave me a bit of a surprise when I read 2.1-update1 in the Firmware version.
Thanks for your help!
Read this link... It has everything you need to get started
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1238070
If you went to settings/about phone/updates? There will be an option to check for system updates. It's been a while since I've looked at that setup, but it's in that general area. I would definitely recommend Vanilla GB for your wife if you're looking for simple but intense performance. I switch between all the MTD GB roms, I love all of em.
Sent telepathically.
Thanks guys.
She's looking for stability more than anything, but I want her to be familiar and not lost.
If she decides she wants TW later, can it be put on later or is it completely ripped? I just don't want to need to flash this multiple times.
I'm leaning towards PowerWash GB now; can't tell if GB is still in dev. Thinking maybe I should just use one of the Froyo ones.
Thoughts?
Check out the "stickies" section in development. There are multiple official restore packages in case you mess up. Look in the "Going from Vanilla GB/etc etc to any other ROM" thread. You can move mountains with that one.
Sent telepathically.
EtherBoo said:
Thanks guys.
She's looking for stability more than anything, but I want her to be familiar and not lost.
If she decides she wants TW later, can it be put on later or is it completely ripped? I just don't want to need to flash this multiple times.
I'm leaning towards PowerWash GB now; can't tell if GB is still in dev. Thinking maybe I should just use one of the Froyo ones.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until powerwashed gingerbread gets a kernal, the pw 1.2 ed05 is faster since it has the otb-fusion 1.6 kernal. Also if your phone can handle the undervolt, the 0808 pbj kernal works nice to. Again everything you need is in the link I posted. Even includes a going back to stock tutorial, with vzw official 2.2.2 ed05 package from pentafive.
Just got it working on CM7. Woooo.
I had her playing with Vanilla and she seems to not like it.
I tried to get her onto PowerWash and it was not very happy. Odin kept crapping out.
Any suggestions as to how I could get a TW ROM on via CWM? Most of them seem to require Odin, and I don't see too many tutorials around (unless I'm missing something). I'd rather make her use vanilla than put her back on Froyo though...

[Q] Trying to figure out what to do next (noob questions)

First of all I would like to apologize if you have heard these questions a thousand times before, but I have done a fair amount of reading and haven't gotten enough concrete answers to be confident enough to continue.
I just got up the courage to root my Fascinate after over a year of having it by following droidstyle's excellent guide. It was very painless and worked first shot, so no worries there. Now I'm at the point of what to do next... I have already frozen the bloatware and looked into some 'root-friendly' apps but I'm not sure where to go from here. I think I've decided I want to get the most out of this thing as I'm not due for an upgrade for (what seems like) a long time. I'm under the impression that installing a good ICS rom is the way to go but I just have a few noob questions before I continue.
1) From what I have been reading Glitched AOKP ICS is the best rom to use currently on the Fascinate, correct? Also quick question, regarding the link to download it... is the current version the build 34 one or the milestone 5 one at the top?
2) Rooting my phone initially didn't erase any of my apps or data. What will installing an ICS rom erase, if anything? I will make backups of course, but I'm just wondering what to expect. Will the 'bloatware' apps still be there or will installing ICS install new system apps?
3) What market apps should I consider 'must haves' to tweak stuff? I already bought setcpu but haven't invested in anything else yet.
4) I plan to follow section 4 of droidstyle's guide but need clarification... even though I have rooted stock 2.3, I should still follow all steps right?
Thank you for listening to my noob questions and thanks to anyone who can offer advice. I have been building and working on computers for years but this cell phone hacking stuff is all new to me (obviously).
Crawshayi said:
First of all I would like to apologize if you have heard these questions a thousand times before, but I have done a fair amount of reading and haven't gotten enough concrete answers to be confident enough to continue.
I just got up the courage to root my Fascinate after over a year of having it by following droidstyle's excellent guide. It was very painless and worked first shot, so no worries there. Now I'm at the point of what to do next... I have already frozen the bloatware and looked into some 'root-friendly' apps but I'm not sure where to go from here. I think I've decided I want to get the most out of this thing as I'm not due for an upgrade for (what seems like) a long time. I'm under the impression that installing a good ICS rom is the way to go but I just have a few noob questions before I continue.
1) From what I have been reading Glitched AOKP ICS is the best rom to use currently on the Fascinate, correct? Also quick question, regarding the link to download it... is the current version the build 34 one or the milestone 5 one at the top?
2) Rooting my phone initially didn't erase any of my apps or data. What will installing an ICS rom erase, if anything? I will make backups of course, but I'm just wondering what to expect. Will the 'bloatware' apps still be there or will installing ICS install new system apps?
3) What market apps should I consider 'must haves' to tweak stuff? I already bought setcpu but haven't invested in anything else yet.
4) I plan to follow section 4 of droidstyle's guide but need clarification... even though I have rooted stock 2.3, I should still follow all steps right?
Thank you for listening to my noob questions and thanks to anyone who can offer advice. I have been building and working on computers for years but this cell phone hacking stuff is all new to me (obviously).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) M5 is newest. Get glitched build off of the exynos server.
2) Complete wipe. A desktop equivalent would be formatting your hard drive with Windows Vista installed and doing a fresh install of windows 7.
Backup all data and contacts locally or on the cloud. Do NOT use Verizon to backup your contact data. Use Google or a local backup instead.
No bloatware will be present since custom roms do not come from the carrier.
3) NSTools. Maybe Root Explorer or wi-fi tether for google
4) Just follow the guide. Rooting doesn't have much to do with recovery and intalling ics and such.
Not to knock ICS, because I love AOKP, but you could also consider working your way there over time. I had a lot of fun playing with different Touchwiz ROMs like SC3 and TSM Res. You may even find one along the way that you want to stick with for a while. At the very least, you'll learn to get where a complete data wipe doesn't even slow you down.
There's so much good stuff still available for this phone. My phone is sheer perfections right now, but I still have plans to try out GeeWiz and MIUI.
Everyone knows the current destination is Glitched AOKP, but the fun is in the journey.
I agree. I would download everything rom,kernel, and app you can find for the phone between here and rootzwiki, just in case links go dead. Tsm res and awesome sauce are two very good roms that I had a ton of fun with. They are more forgiving to the new user as far as making mistakes goes. Couple of things to know before you continue are that you can use the three finger method to get into recovery on touchwiz roms but not the ics roms(must enter recovery through power off menu). You also cant just flash back and forth from touchwiz roms and cm7 or ics roms, as you have to follow certain steps
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Well I was planning on jumping right into ICS as it looks amazing and I don't think I want to wait... however I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of trying different roms later on down the road. Is it going to be a pain to go backwards from ICS, or just flash like usual? Also, to those that have tried most of the 'good' roms, what would you consider your top 3 non-ICS?
Also on the subject of backing up my apps... I have been using Mybackup as it seems the most simplistic to use and reliable. Will my apps be exactly as they were when I backed them up (after switching to ICS) or is it just better to re-download what I need and configure them again?
I hate to spam some more questions but I figure since I already am... just a few more...
I haven't really messed with Setcpu that much, but is it bad to have it at 100/1000 or should I keep the max lower than that? And last one... what's the best wifi tether to use so Verizon won't send their goons after me? Is the USB tether from clockwork mod any good?
Thanks to all of you for your input. I think I'll be attempting to flash to ICS tomorrow night and hopefully all goes well.
You can go from touchwiz roms to isc roms by flashing but you need to do a lot more using the computer to go backwards. It will make more sense once you have a better understanding. Use titanium backup to backup your apps. If you really dont have any then just redownload them. If you are on the touchwiz roms you can use setcpu, but for ics roms you are going to be using an app called nstools or from control (built into settings section of rom). Again, more of this will make sense later down the road that is why I figured it would be better to start on a from like tsm Res or awesome sauslce
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Well I'm still on the fence here on what to do. I really want to run ICS but with all the little glitches I've read about I think maybe I'll try some of the better GB roms first... I think TSM Res looks top for me with the features, but I might try more than just 1. I've heard not to restore data backups when going ICS... does this apply to GB roms as well? Should I also switch the radio or is what I have the same as the GB one? Thanks
Crawshayi said:
Well I'm still on the fence here on what to do. I really want to run ICS but with all the little glitches I've read about I think maybe I'll try some of the better GB roms first... I think TSM Res looks top for me with the features, but I might try more than just 1. I've heard not to restore data backups when going ICS... does this apply to GB roms as well? Should I also switch the radio or is what I have the same as the GB one? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOKP milestone 5. You WILL thank me for it. Make sure its Steve's glitchy (the kernel of course) build.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
mezster said:
AOKP milestone 5. You WILL thank me for it. Make sure its Steve's glitchy (the kernel of course) build.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't like the one they just released a few days ago?
Crawshayi said:
You don't like the one they just released a few days ago?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a nightly and has a minor bug where apps on SD card force close. No biggie for more experienced users who know its a nightly and can deal. Nightlies are bleeding edge releases and as such can contain a bug or two. Milestones are stable releases to be used as a reliable daily driver if one is needed (some do). I recommend the m5 release since it is a milestone and you are new to this. I also want to see you have the best experience possible.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
I'm in a similar spot. I put CM7 on my wife's phone a while ago, but she has downloaded so much crap on it it's running like garbage and crashing.
Does the AOKP M5 have any bugs I should be aware of? As long as it's working well and everything is working (WiFi, Camera, MMS, etc), she'll be fine with it as a daily driver.
Two other questions I have.
Where can I get the correct glitchy Kernel?
Do I just need to download the ROM and kernel, wipe data/cache, then flash the ROM then kernel, then gapps (in that order) in Clockwork Recovery? Anything else?
She really likes the ICS stuff I've been showing her on my Rezound, especially the speech to text typing.
Thanks for your feedback.
EDIT
Added Information:
Just to make sure my i's are dotted and my t's are crossed--
Build for Verizon Fascinate:
http://forum.aokp.co/page/releases/_/milestone-5-r20
fascinatemtd Samsung Fascinate
Glitch Kernel:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459475
Are those right?
EDIT 2
Should I update radios as well? (Assuming yes since going to AOKP from CM7). Which ones should I do? Again, is this a simple flash in CWR? What's the install sequence?
Thanks.
EtherBoo said:
I'm in a similar spot. I put CM7 on my wife's phone a while ago, but she has downloaded so much crap on it it's running like garbage and crashing.
Does the AOKP M5 have any bugs I should be aware of? As long as it's working well and everything is working (WiFi, Camera, MMS, etc), she'll be fine with it as a daily driver.
Two other questions I have.
Where can I get the correct glitchy Kernel?
Do I just need to download the ROM and kernel, wipe data/cache, then flash the ROM then kernel, then gapps (in that order) in Clockwork Recovery? Anything else?
She really likes the ICS stuff I've been showing her on my Rezound, especially the speech to text typing.
Thanks for your feedback.
EDIT
Added Information:
Just to make sure my i's are dotted and my t's are crossed--
Build for Verizon Fascinate:
http://forum.aokp.co/page/releases/_/milestone-5-r20
fascinatemtd Samsung Fascinate
Glitch Kernel:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459475
Are those right?
EDIT 2
Should I update radios as well? (Assuming yes since going to AOKP from CM7). Which ones should I do? Again, is this a simple flash in CWR? What's the install sequence?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the Milestone 5 Glitched build found HERE
It includes the Glitch kernel, so no need to flash separately, and also has a few extra cherry picks thrown in. This is a Milestone build, so no real bugs, should run smooth as silk.
I'm not sure of the recommended radio for fascinate on ICS.
jbreakfield said:
Get the Milestone 5 Glitched build found HERE
It includes the Glitch kernel, so no need to flash separately, and also has a few extra cherry picks thrown in. This is a Milestone build, so no real bugs, should run smooth as silk.
I'm not sure of the recommended radio for fascinate on ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might sound like a cheesy question, but what radios are you running?
Thanks for your help.
jbreakfield said:
Get the Milestone 5 Glitched build found HERE
It includes the Glitch kernel, so no need to flash separately, and also has a few extra cherry picks thrown in. This is a Milestone build, so no real bugs, should run smooth as silk.
I'm not sure of the recommended radio for fascinate on ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QFT.
Get the Glitched build as it has fixes, extra available RAM, and much more not available in the AOKP official build.
Wifi, cam, and MMS all work fine. I can't honestly think of anything not working off the top of my head. NovaLauncher (Regular is free, Prime is $4 and well worth it for gestures) is recommended at this point since Apex has gotten a little slow.
Radio is recommended to be EH03 though I think ec09 and anything newer than eh03 work fine. I am running EH03 and no complaints.
I think I remember reading something about torch not working in ICS... is that the type of app that turns on the LED? Believe it or not I use that a lot and it would be a pain if it didn't work when I switch.
Also, is there any way to check what radio you're currently using before flashing? Tried looking that up but couldn't find it
Ah yes...torch doesn't work but you can use the tiny flashlight app to turn on the flash and achieve the same functionality.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
bobloblaw1 said:
Ah yes...torch doesn't work but you can use the tiny flashlight app to turn on the flash and achieve the same functionality.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Tiny Flashlight + LED app? That's actually what I'm using now and if that works then I'm all set... I thought when people said 'torch' they just meant any app that turns on the LED
I flashed and ran into 1 problem. I had to flash Team Hacksungs Build 2 ROM first. Flashing glitched put me in an endless boot. Then I couldn't boot to recovery. I really was flipping out.
I had to Odin a new recovery in, wipe, then flash Team Hacksungs Build 2 ROM. For some reason, it booted into AOKP (?) then. I went back to recovery, wiped, reflashed AOKP and got it working.
I haven't searched yet, but anyone know where I can change the boot screen? It's really not a "wife friendly" boot screen.
As I understand it, torch refers to the built in flashlight feature in aokp called torch. Tiny flashlight plus the widget give similar functionality.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium

In Need Of Advice For Starting Over

First, an explanation of my situation:
I bought a Galaxy Note at the beginning of the summer. All-in-all, I was pretty happy with it. It was a much improved experience over my Atrix, which was in poor condition by the time I switched over.
I wasn't able to root at first as I only had access to a Mac, and there were innumerable issues in doing so - Odin was PC only, WINE ports of it failed to recognize the phone, the Mac equivalent of Odin (I am spacing on its name right now) didn't work with the Note, etc.
When ICS was officially released, I tried to update to it via Kies. Kies on Mac is a ****storm. It's incredibly buggy, toolbars and menus don't display correctly, it has trouble recognizing the device, etc. I was unable to get it to make a backup, but I eventually managed to load the ROM onto it...
... and that's when the real problems started.
My battery life has turned to crap. Everything runs incredibly slow. Everything's super buggy. Apps force-close all the time. My MicroSD card ended up getting corrupted - half of my music disappeared, of what was left only 1/3rd actually worked. I just reformatted my MicroSD, backing everything important up, etc.
I've been dealing with this for around a month now, as whenever I come to the forum I have no idea where to even start to fix this. I'm up for wiping everything and starting over, and I do have access to a Windows XP machine now so that may be easier... but I don't even know where to go from there.
---------------------------------------------------​
That's why I'm here - I need advice. I need advice as to how to clean up the current mess my phone has turned into and start over. I need advice as to what ROM to try and how to go about loading it. I need advice as to whether to root and how to do so. I need advice as to whether to install a CWM, which one to use and how to go about doing so.
Here is what I am looking for, ordered from most important to least:
Battery life is important to me. I loved how long the battery lasted before my attempted upgrade to ICS... now it lasts maybe 1/3 of the time.
I want something that will work - I want stability. No more constant force-quits of every freaking app.
A smooth, fast UI would be preferable.
Feature packed. I like the thought of cutting edge features of newer (or custom) versions of Android being incorporated - but this is far less important to me than battery life and stability.
My preferred method of installation would be using my Mac - but as I said, Windows XP is a very easy option for me as well. I could also install a newer version of Windows if need be, but would prefer not to go through that...
Thanks in advance for any help, advice and recommendations! ^_^
Get Odin and root your phone...
Download and flash TWRP... http://teamw.in/project/twrp
download a ROM of your choice
boot into the recovery ..wipe--->>cache/dalvik cache/ wipe ROM/factory reset..>then go to the install and flash your ROM...
These are very rudimentary instructions I hope they helped a bit...good luck
Do you have an idea for what ROM you like or want? Couple of great ROMs..for stockish check out flappjaxxx's for jellybean check out manelscout4life..stable and fast
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Techno is onto the correct answer, unless of course you are truly wanting the stock version back.
Kies and OTA updates are often flawed, and give the end user exactly the type of problems you are stating.
However, if you want a return to stock, the information can be found in the "note super everything thread" located as a sticky at the top of the general note section.
But I do agree with techno, that a root and flash of a quality custom rom is the way to go......g
Thanks a lot, both of you!
As to what ROM I want, honestly that's one of the reasons I have been procrastinating so much -- I have no idea whatsoever. There's such an overwhelming number of options out there, of basic flavors (ICS, JB, GB, CM7, etc.) and tens of derivatives of each one made by different people. I have no idea where to even start making such a decision.
I can tell you this much. On my Atrix, I started with the stock Motoblur-Froyo, flashed GingerBlur, disliked it's bugginess but dealt with it for almost a year, then flashed the CM7-based Neutrino. I wasn't very happy with how skimpy the ROM was but stuck with it until I got my Note. I was pretty satiated with the stock ROM, but decided to upgrade to ICS due to the promise of a better UI, increased functionality and especially a faster camera. While my experience with ICS was terrible, I could see myself enjoying a functional, non-buggy version...
Basically, I have no idea what ROM or even what base OS version I am looking for. That said, I do know the criteria that matter to me, as stated prior:
Battery Life
Stability
Smooth UI
Cutting-Edge Feature Packed
I can't really think of any features I am specifically looking for, other than under-the-radar tethering and top-notch camera speed & functionality .
As I have no attachment to any specific OS version, suppose that would mean that if battery life, stability and smoothness issues are equal amongst ROM variants, I would be looking for a Jellybean ROM - as it would be most packed with new features... right?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1664980
That is the best stockish ICS experience you can get and keeps all the functionality of your phone including the spen. He also offers a jellybean ROM but honestly to find the best JB rom for you just read through the threads read and REREAD THE OP of those ROMs..jellybean is fun and cool but not 101% stable yet..people still getting random reboots and some are losing there APN settings..so maybe just flashing ics and playing with those ROMs is best for you for now..FYI the above rom is smooth as silk and great battery life
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Again , I agree with Techno, and the rom he posted is the one I'm using to type this.
Flappjaxxx is a fine developer, and he has packed this UCLF6 build with full functionality , and much more.
He is , and will continue to be my top pick for quality builds and performance ...g
This is all really wonderful advice - thanks again!
I guess I have a few last questions:
What is the best way to root at this point? If I recall, there are multiple ways to root via Odin... is there a specific one you would recommend for my current situation (read: current buggy ICS firmware)? A link would be very much appreciated, as the roadmap thread is a bit... overwhelming with all of the options.
Are there any MODs you recommend I install after I have my new flappjaxxx ROM in place? Will tethering work off the bat? Will all of the Gapps (Gmail, Navigation, etc.) be there for me to use? Will I need to install anything else, or is there any recommendations that you have?
Thanks again a ton - you've both been enormously helpful!
Also, I just noticed that the recovery you linked me to (http://teamw.in/project/twrp) has no option for the Galaxy Note...
EDIT: It turns out you linked me to the wrong page - to TWPR 1. Here's the link to TWRP 2.2, for anyone else who comes across this thread: http://teamw.in/project/twrp2
Just my 2 cents. After you get straightened out, you may want to take a look here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29376779
Another stable rom with great battery life, and a super Dev a well. I have been running it since testing and find it to be the perfect rom and team for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Okay ....
Please verify your carrier ....model ...and current software version ....then we can point you to the correct bits and pieces of the super thread.
I just want to make sure we are all on the same page ....g
Edit :
I'm away for a few hours ...
But I'm sure a few other helpful folks will chime in with the links ...g
phnord said:
Thanks a lot, both of you!
As to what ROM I want, honestly that's one of the reasons I have been procrastinating so much -- I have no idea whatsoever. There's such an overwhelming number of options out there, of basic flavors (ICS, JB, GB, CM7, etc.) and tens of derivatives of each one made by different people. I have no idea where to even start making such a decision.
I can tell you this much. On my Atrix, I started with the stock Motoblur-Froyo, flashed GingerBlur, disliked it's bugginess but dealt with it for almost a year, then flashed the CM7-based Neutrino. I wasn't very happy with how skimpy the ROM was but stuck with it until I got my Note. I was pretty satiated with the stock ROM, but decided to upgrade to ICS due to the promise of a better UI, increased functionality and especially a faster camera. While my experience with ICS was terrible, I could see myself enjoying a functional, non-buggy version...
Basically, I have no idea what ROM or even what base OS version I am looking for. That said, I do know the criteria that matter to me, as stated prior:
Battery Life
Stability
Smooth UI
Cutting-Edge Feature Packed
I can't really think of any features I am specifically looking for, other than under-the-radar tethering and top-notch camera speed & functionality .
As I have no attachment to any specific OS version, suppose that would mean that if battery life, stability and smoothness issues are equal amongst ROM variants, I would be looking for a Jellybean ROM - as it would be most packed with new features... right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using black star v flawless in my eyes..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium

[Q] Noob looking for ROM advice....

First, let me say I love this forum. Second, this is my first smart phone, let alone an android OS phone. I have never rooted a phone, let alone installed a custom ROM. I do have linux experience but more as a hobby, not a power user. I like to keep a linux machine around for fun. The idea of never using windows again at home is one I hope to go full bore on someday but I refuse to go MAC.
Having said that, I really like the stock setup from a usability standpoint. My only complaints are the bloatware that I cannot remove and that even when I have power saving turned on, the battery seems to go too fast. I'm trying to accomplish the following:
1) Improve battery life
2) Free up storage space
3) eliminate bloatware
4) Maintain simple interface (I don't want to be inundated with options and choices)
I use my phone to watch MKV movies a lot. I also prefer the stock browser. I watch a lot of flash videos/streams online. I like to be able to use DLNA to share MKV to other devices on the network. I'm not a gamer anymore.
Would anyone be able to help me decide how to accomplish this? Would a custom ROM be a good solution for me? If so, which ROM? Would I be better off just rooting the phone and uninstalling items?
Thanks for any answers and advice you nice folks can give me.
Rooting phone is a good idea. That way you have full control over your rom. Remember to do a backup of your rom before you start making changes, then if you get in to difficulties you can revert back to the original with out any worries.
Android Revolution is a good "Sense cleaner" with some non-intrusive enhancements.
Venom (my current ROM) takes it to the next level and has a friendlier UI for removing Sense bloat. Venom has more configuration options than you can imagine - but you can just ignore them if you like things the way they are.
The best perceived battery life I've had so far on my HOX+ is CyanogenMod though. It's a totally separate build, and based straight on original Android source, not HTC's. You'll lose the sweet HTC camera chip functions with this option (if it's really that sweet is a matter for debate though).
I can only agree with the previous speaker.
Venom is probably the future.
You have so many settings that you will not find elsewhere.
Stable, fast, smooth, and a great support.
Hats off to the developers
If only they'd get rid of the viper icons
Haha. It'll look more professional....just saying.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium
gamepr said:
If only they'd get rid of the viper icons
Haha. It'll look more professional....just saying.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right. I hope it looks better from now.
Well I do not know if you are an international or U.S. user. I can only speak for U.S. and my experience has been Elegancia. The rom is fast stable and offers the simplistic support of what you enjoy. Personal preference directs me away from Viper rom. I have found it buggy, slow and overall hinders daily use. If you are international I would definitely go with Cyanogen Mod, and would still transition to cyanogen once it is released for the U.S. variant.
Kraizk said:
Well I do not know if you are an international or U.S. user. I can only speak for U.S. and my experience has been Elegancia. The rom is fast stable and offers the simplistic support of what you enjoy. Personal preference directs me away from Viper rom. I have found it buggy, slow and overall hinders daily use. If you are international I would definitely go with Cyanogen Mod, and would still transition to cyanogen once it is released for the U.S. variant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the International Device. For me, the Viper Rom works fine on my Hox +.:good:
Kraizk said:
Well I do not know if you are an international or U.S. user. I can only speak for U.S. and my experience has been Elegancia. The rom is fast stable and offers the simplistic support of what you enjoy. Personal preference directs me away from Viper rom. I have found it buggy, slow and overall hinders daily use. If you are international I would definitely go with Cyanogen Mod, and would still transition to cyanogen once it is released for the U.S. variant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this. Elegancia is great. It gives me great battery life, better than the others Imo. But YMMV.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2
ARHD
I was just the same as you but my advice would be simply to install android revolution HD, it looks identical to the default HTC sense so its really easy to use obviously. It improves battery life really well from my experience, I can easily go a couple days without recharging if I need to, or more if I don't use it much. The ROM also has great performance and it makes everything noticeably faster and more fluid, it also uninstalls all the rubbish that's on there when you get it like amazon MP3 and all that stuff. As for installing it just use Hasoon2000's toolkit which I'm sure you've seen by now to root and install the ROM.
Android Revolution HD: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1987885
Hasoon 2000's Toolkit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994961
I'll give you my experience, since I'm in a similar boat. After 3 years away from Android (had the first Motorola Droid but wasn't into rooting), I switched from my iPhone 4 to the HOX+ on AT&T so I could give Android another shot. I quickly learned that HTC and AT&T put a LOT of crap on their phones I didn't need, and wanted to slim it down, get better battery life, speed things up, etc.
So for my first rooting/ROM experience, I used Hasoon's tool to root, then went about picking a ROM. I ended up with Elegancia, but really I'd go with either that or Viper just based on the amount of activity on their threads. Elegancia has been excellent, and if you're essentially looking for stock experience with better battery life, just make sure you DON'T choose "De-sense" in the options, and just leave all the HTC apps on during installation.
I actually de-sensed and went with Nova Launcher, but I can tell you that the ROM runs MUCH smoother and faster than stock, and I haven't regretted it. I haven't tried Viper yet. Depending on how long Llior takes on his CM 10 for the AT&T, I may try Viper in a week or two to see how it goes, but honestly, can't go wrong with Elegancia.
Hope this helps. As a similar noob in the rooting/flashing scene here, if you have more questions let me know.
Thanks for all the replies.
I have used the toolkit and rooted the phone today. Everything says to backup before installing a ROM. I thought I made a backup during the rooting process. I only really want a backup of my stock phone in case I have to go back later.
How do I know if I have a full backup that I can use later?
What exactly is the process for creating a backup and where is it saved? Can I save a backup on my PC instead of the phone?
I don't want 2 or 3 complete backups on my phone hogging up space.
OK. I think I got Elegancia installed but I never did install the new boot.img.
Does the elegancia ROM install/update this automatically? I have booted into the new Elegancia ROM and it appears to be running fine.

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