I'm trying to get Android 4.4 up and running on my LG Optimus G Pro (GPRO). The GPRO uses the Snapdragon 600 processor which is almost identical to the S4 Pro found in the Nexus 4. I pulled the Android 4.4_r1 tag and noticed that Google already has the kernel (binary) available for the mako device (Nexus 4) and was wondering if I can simply reuse the binary on the GPRO. I know I still need to build the GPRO specific board support binaries which I am in the process of doing but I would imagine that the kernel is something that I should just be able to reuse. Are there any technical pitfalls that I am not seeing here with respect to reusing the kernel? I'm going for a close to AOSP build as possible. I guess I'll find out the answer to my question soon enough but was just wonder if folks have already tried this and was there a great deal of success.
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I'm not understanding how kernels and ROMs connect. Can someone give me some extra insight?
[Hardware] <-- Unique to every phone
--
[Kernel] <--- Tells the OS how to talk to the hardware
--
[ROM] <--- Slightly confused. Is the OS in the Read only Memory, or has this term changed its "street" meaning?
I understand that most ROMs (e.g. CM7 and CM9) include both the kernel and the ROM, but can you flash these separately too?
I have a 1.5 year old thunderbolt that's rooted, and has CM7 which is based on gingerbread. I believe HTC has also released the kernel as open source, which is probably the reason I have CM7
Anyway, I guess what I'm looking for is an answer/guide/forum that explains why I can't install newer versions of android onto the already working/open source kernel I'm already running. Is it accurate to view the kernel as all the phone's drivers, or just the CPU driver? If that statement is true, why can't I load ICS or Jelly Bean onto my already existing set of drivers?
I'm thinking about starting a Wiki on this if 1) it doesn't already exist, and 2) I can wrap my brain around it enough to share with others!
Thanks to anyone with a response!
shadowrelic said:
I'm not understanding how kernels and ROMs connect. Can someone give me some extra insight?
[Hardware] <-- Unique to every phone
--
[Kernel] <--- Tells the OS how to talk to the hardware
--
[ROM] <--- Slightly confused. Is the OS in the Read only Memory, or has this term changed its "street" meaning?
I understand that most ROMs (e.g. CM7 and CM9) include both the kernel and the ROM, but can you flash these separately too?
I have a 1.5 year old thunderbolt that's rooted, and has CM7 which is based on gingerbread. I believe HTC has also released the kernel as open source, which is probably the reason I have CM7
Anyway, I guess what I'm looking for is an answer/guide/forum that explains why I can't install newer versions of android onto the already working/open source kernel I'm already running. Is it accurate to view the kernel as all the phone's drivers, or just the CPU driver? If that statement is true, why can't I load ICS or Jelly Bean onto my already existing set of drivers?
I'm thinking about starting a Wiki on this if 1) it doesn't already exist, and 2) I can wrap my brain around it enough to share with others!
Thanks to anyone with a response!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct about the ROM, but ROMs also include the kernel (if it didn't, or no kernel was flashed separately, the device would not boot). Yes, other kernels can be flashed on your existing ROM, but it's not necessarily going to be compatible.
Sort of, but there's a lot more than that. See here and here. Later versions of Android will require newer drivers,etc. which the existing kernel won't provide (they'll be outdated). Back porting and additional coding is theoretically possible, but insanely difficult (many times). Even after this some things may still not work.
Thanks for the insight, I was able to get a lot deeper into this with those links. For anyone else wandering down a similar path, you might as well stop now! Here are a few links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1039217&page=2#17
http://www.cs.uwc.ac.za/~mmotlhabi/avmk.pdf
http://www.iteachandroid.com/2012/01/what-is-firmware-rom-and-firmware.html
So, if anyone else is still listening, I do have two more questions:
Do any phones have truly open source drivers? (a.k.a. higher probability of allowing old hardware to work with new android OS)
Is there any way to determine which phones will be supported by the custom-ROM community early on? I know the Nexus line doesn't have vendor modified code, is that the direction which would have the highest probability to stay at top of the Custom ROM curve without upgrading devices every year?
Thanks again for any insight! I hope I'm posting this in a Newb-Friendly forum!
shadowrelic said:
Thanks for the insight, I was able to get a lot deeper into this with those links. For anyone else wandering down a similar path, you might as well stop now! Here are a few links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1039217&page=2#17
http://www.cs.uwc.ac.za/~mmotlhabi/avmk.pdf
http://www.iteachandroid.com/2012/01/what-is-firmware-rom-and-firmware.html
So, if anyone else is still listening, I do have two more questions:
Do any phones have truly open source drivers? (a.k.a. higher probability of allowing old hardware to work with new android OS)
Is there any way to determine which phones will be supported by the custom-ROM community early on? I know the Nexus line doesn't have vendor modified code, is that the direction which would have the highest probability to stay at top of the Custom ROM curve without upgrading devices every year?
Thanks again for any insight! I hope I'm posting this in a Newb-Friendly forum!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For both your questions, the Nexus-line devices would be the way to go. They usually have everything working on new Android versions the soonest, and Google always releases their code, etc.
Hi
i can use linux kernel (zimage) to update android kernel if yes ,how ?
thnx
Does anyone know anything about this tablet? My wife just got one and wanted to see if porting KitKat was possible on this device?
It comes with Android 4.2.
dsreyes1014 said:
Does anyone know anything about this tablet? My wife just got one and wanted to see if porting KitKat was possible on this device?
It comes with Android 4.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tablet appears to be just another no-name brand tablet , the Google in the branding name is misleading as the device has nothing to do with Google (It's not at all an official Google branded product) other then it runs Android. As far as porting KitKat is concerned, it is possible but it will unforutnately be difficult without an official kernel source from the manufacture or your own knowledge of compiling AOSP KitKat or say Cyanogenmod 11 for an unsupported device.
The tablet appears to be just another no-name brand tablet , the Google in the branding name is misleading as the device has nothing to do with Google (It's not at all an official Google branded product) other then it runs Android. As far as porting KitKat is concerned, it is possible but it will unforutnately be difficult without an official kernel source from the manufacture or your own knowledge of compiling AOSP KitKat or say Cyanogenmod 11 for an unsupported device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I was able to obtain kernel source would it be possible for you or anyone to build KitKat for it? How do I obtain kernel source?
dsreyes1014 said:
If I was able to obtain kernel source would it be possible for you or anyone to build KitKat for it? How do I obtain kernel source?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the case of your device you would have to contact the manufacture and ask them to provide you with the kernel source code, and even then if they did you would still have to undergo the process of extracting the files for your device and fixing any broken features that would likely arise during the KitKat building process.
Porting Android - Did I thinking that this modifying custom ROM from one device such as CyanogenMod for the Nexus 5 and move it to another completely different device? I have an idea for the Nokia N9 developing ended with android 4.1, I would like to create a ROM, for example, 4.4 (higher than 4.1) for Nokia N9 as KitKat has a lot of optimization and was run even on slower devices. Could someone explain how to do or advise what to do, or give a link to the guide. Linux commands aren't unknown to me. I'm new on xda.
Hi,
I have been planning to port cyanogenmod for Micromax A121 Elanza. As of date, there is no custom rom for this model. So, I decided to build my own cyanogenmod for this model via the guides given in How To Port CyanogenMod (wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_porting_intro) . In this page, it is given "architecturally similar to other devices that are already on the market and have existing CM ports. If you find an "ancestor" or "sibling" of your device, much of the work may already be done for you!".
My question is 'How to find an architectural similar model for the aforementioned mobile model?' What components (processor, screen size, pixels, RAM, Memory) matters for architectural similarity? Please help me to get a mobile model which is similar to A121 and having CM port.
Thanks in advance...
Most important is the device's chipset and vendor.
It seems that the A121 is based on a Snapdragon 200 msm8212 SoC. So it would be optimal if you could find another micromax device using the msm8212.
You could for example look at the Wikipedia page for Snapdragon processors.
Sent from my AOSPA One m8 using XDA Free mobile app
Hi Uroc327,
I am planning to port CM rom of Moto G to Micromax A121, as both have almost same chipset configuration and screen size, except the vendor (Motorola-Micromax). Is it possible to port Moto G's CM rom to Micromax A121?
It should be definitely possible. Just depends on the invested time
Basically as the Moto G has the same SoC you can reuse most of the HAL stuff (hardware/ directory). But you will still need to handle vendor and device specific stuff like the kernel, prebuilt binaries or some config files for example.
But seems doable to me
Edit: looks like I looked up a wrong chipset for your device.. According to the screenshot you took you have a Snapdragon 400 msm8226 chipset.
Sent from my AOSPA One m8 using XDA Free mobile app
Uroc327 said:
It should be definitely possible. Just depends on the invested time
Basically as the Moto G has the same SoC you can reuse most of the HAL stuff (hardware/ directory). But you will still need to handle vendor and device specific stuff like the kernel, prebuilt binaries or some config files for example.
But seems doable to me
Edit: looks like I looked up a wrong chipset for your device.. According to the screenshot you took you have a Snapdragon 400 msm8226 chipset.
Sent from my AOSPA One m8 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your immediate response, Uroc327.
Sorry, I have just swapped the configuration shots in the image. Actually, the one you previously mentioned is the correct (Snapdragon 200 chipset). Could you please elaborate on configuring kernel, prebuilt binaries for the targeted device(Micromax A121)? I have following components ready with me,
Stock ROM of Micromax A121
CyanogenMod 12 of Moto G
A system with Java,.net & Android SDK
Already I have ported these ROM(by just copying and replacing some files), but I am getting stuck at boot loop. Where I am doing wrong? What may be the root cause of boot loop?
Thanks in advance.
Looking at a CyanogenMod tree for the Moto E (which uses the Snapdragon 200) it seems like CyanogenMod sources contain lots of hardware handling code out of the box.
I doubt that the kernel for the moto g will work for a completely other device (other vendor and even other chipset). But I'm no expert in kernels so I can't provide real details here.
Actually Micromax has to provide the kernel source, if they've changed anything.
I'm also having some hard times figuring out, what I can build from source and what I need to copy from stock. Maybe there exists a tool somewhere to determine just that but I didn't find it yet (if it even exists).
Regarding your bootloop: do you know, id adb shows up? So how far does the system get before it reboots.
And what files did you replace?
Probably the ramdisk is somehow doing the wrong stuff. I could imagine that there may be some props, partitions or other device specific settings which were correct for the Moto G but are completely incorrect for your device.
Sent from my AOSPA One m8 using XDA Free mobile app
Can someone send me the link for stock ROM for micromax A12
---------- Post added at 07:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 AM ----------
If u HV completed porting cyanogenmod for A121 ...plzz let me know..
Hi, I'm in need of some advice about Android development/device to purchase,
Since the devs here are far more experienced than me I would ask some advice,
I started recently 'making' my own AOSP but I needed slow down after discovering I need to have the binaries(kind of: the drivers of the hardware?). So I spent my last 2 days searching about it and devices I could use
I came to the following understanding, I need the AOSP + kernel(as long as I have the kernel I don't need worry about the binaries from the vendor ? since the kernel takes care of it)
I'm thinking between a Moto C Plus or Xiaomi Redmi 6A, since I discovered there are currently ROM's and both have their TWRP. On the case of Xiaomi even the kernel is available. I also noticed the Xperia are good for development, but my problem is the budget I have available
Any piece of advice is welcome, thanks :good:
Try this
biscottoesse said:
Hi, I'm in need of some advice about Android development/device to purchase,
Since the devs here are far more experienced than me I would ask some advice,
I started recently 'making' my own AOSP but I needed slow down after discovering I need to have the binaries(kind of: the drivers of the hardware?). So I spent my last 2 days searching about it and devices I could use
I came to the following understanding, I need the AOSP + kernel(as long as I have the kernel I don't need worry about the binaries from the vendor ? since the kernel takes care of it)
I'm thinking between a Moto C Plus or Xiaomi Redmi 6A, since I discovered there are currently ROM's and both have their TWRP. On the case of Xiaomi even the kernel is available. I also noticed the Xperia are good for development, but my problem is the budget I have available
Any piece of advice is welcome, thanks :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
The best phone that I recommend is the Moto phones as they are easier to port custom versions of android. However, since the Moto C Plus has a MediaTek Processor, I suggest you look for other versions of the Moto Series phones that has a Snapdragon Processors. For example like the Moto E 2nd Gen LTE version, though it has a 1gb ram, I've seen many developers developing their own custom ROM.
I played around with MediaTek Processors the one thing I really don't love about them is that they are not robust like other processors. I had a Lenovo S820 with a MediaTek processor, the one thing I find annoying is that the MediaTek Processors use SPFLASH Tool.
But hey it's your choice like, just make sure the phone that you choose is able to port your custom ROM easily and won't brick the device.
Thank You
KIBS2173
!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR DEVICE GOT BRICKED OR DAMAGED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KIBS2173 said:
Hi there,
The best phone that I recommend is the Moto phones as they are easier to port custom versions of android. However, since the Moto C Plus has a MediaTek Processor, I suggest you look for other versions of the Moto Series phones that has a Snapdragon Processors. For example like the Moto E 2nd Gen LTE version, though it has a 1gb ram, I've seen many developers developing their own custom ROM.
I played around with MediaTek Processors the one thing I really don't love about them is that they are not robust like other processors. I had a Lenovo S820 with a MediaTek processor, the one thing I find annoying is that the MediaTek Processors use SPFLASH Tool.
But hey it's your choice like, just make sure the phone that you choose is able to port your custom ROM easily and won't brick the device.
Thank You
KIBS2173
!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR DEVICE GOT BRICKED OR DAMAGED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your share :good: