The 2.1 Experience on HTC Eris

SpyBob

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Mar 24, 2010
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Hello all.
I have recently, within the past 36 hours, upgraded my Eris to the 2.1 OS and thought I would share my experience thus far. I read several forums in regards to the root vs leak version before i took the plunge and finally downloaded it from the sight below.
Download from :Download PB00IMG.zip from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Directions from: How To Root Your HTC Eris

A word of caution. Even though my download went off without a hitch, not all will. There is always the chance of transforming your phone into a brick and no one is to be held liable but yourself if this happens.

Your contacts and calender events will be backed-up through Gmail, however, your apps history will be gone. I backed mine up to the SD card with Astro App Manager. I chose not to use them once 2.1 was running (just to be safe) as they were 1.5 OS compatable. I just used it as a grocery list to get the 2.1 versions.

Right off, the biggest improvement has been the battery life. I charged my eris from 6pm to 9pm on the 22nd and plugged it in to charge again at 11pm on the 23rd with 25% charge left. I am a heavy user, streaming Last.fm and Pandora at least an hour, letting my son play games for 30 minutes, all the while, emails and messages are coming across. My typical charge last only 8 hours - after the upgrade,i could have gone 18 hours easy...maybe 20.

User interface is very similar with very few changes. New, is the pinch zoom on the home screen, Power Control widget, Latitude widget, of course Google Nav (basically all the native 2.0 apps sans the home screen).

The Eris processor seems more than adequate to handle the multi tasking I put upon it (Streaming Last.fm through the widget, web browsing on Last.fm's FULL sight-not the mobile version- and using the Nav simultaneously). I found this surprising as i remembered in training that the Eris was said not to have the proper processor to run even 2.0. With more than 21 apps downloaded, I have 70 Mb still available. I have yet to download a task killer app and will stay that way as long as possible. I have read they are truly not needed, although, I have always recommended my customers have one since i have seen many with memory problems who did not use one. In case anyone is using PDANet, it still works like a charm. How else would I connect my Netbook.

I will update with any bugs (if found) and work arounds if needed. Also, if you decide to upgrade, let me know how it went.

SpyBob
 

hakoreh

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I'm glad you decided to upgrade but can I ask what was the point of making a fresh new thread when there is one existing with plenty of replies already?
 

judasmachine

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I actually enjoy this one big post over a thousand snippets interspersed with other chatter. Also, I think it sounds like this guy knows what he's doing, and would be interested to see this thread updated as he learns more.
 

SpyBob

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Mar 24, 2010
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Thank you Judas. I created a new thread due to others seeming to be (to me) either too tech heavy or offering only partial info and incomplete thoughts. I am a sales representative therefore either of the two before mentioned cannot properly support those who cannot piece the info together. I do this on a daily basis - taking an intimidating device and breaking it down to a level my client understands, giving them confidence in their own ability with a new device. Partial and incomplete information can cost me dearly. I am not educated by any means in rooting or hacking. My point of view is that of the user therefore I will break down the technical into the simple. That is why I created this one - lengthy as it may be.
 

jldeitch

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What do I lose in terms of what's installed on my Eris if I upgrade to the leaked 2.1? Will I have to set up my custom wallpapers and ringtones again? What happens to my Exchange and IMAP email accounts? Will any of my installed apps carry across or do I need to reinstall them? What happens with my purchased apps -- do I need to purchase them again?

I'm very tempted, but want to know how much work I'm setting up for myself before committing.
 

92greenlx

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Me personally, root all the way. The newest root is great, nav works awsome. As far as what u lose, set to tell u, but everything. But if u remember everything that was on ur phone, getting them back should be easy in the market place.. the problem with leaks r ur stuck wid what Rom u loaded. With root, u can nanback up then flash the new zip file. What's nice is there's a root that let's u go back to 1.5 o to believe. Haven't tried this but I have the file on my laptop and the how to as well. Root is nice bc there is endless possibilities to the roms. I really can't say much for leaks but roots are great.
 

SpyBob

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Mar 24, 2010
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Update
When power cycling, you may need to re-enter your gmail password. I haven't seen it ask 100% of the time.

Infrequent audio loss on the device and through Bluetooth however, I believe I can trace it to removing the SD card to upgrade someone else's Eris to 2.1

Battery life is still incredible. I can go all day without recharging and then some. My wife's Eris goes TWO days.
 

SpyBob

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All data will be wiped. Cal and contacts will auto populate once your gmail is set up. Anything purchased can be downloaded again without cost however the free apps will have to be manually selected.
 

mettown803

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All data will be wiped. Cal and contacts will auto populate once your gmail is set up. Anything purchased can be downloaded again without cost however the free apps will have to be manually selected.

Note that your contacts will only sync with google if you have them saved as a google contact. If you save it as a regular phone contact they're lost, unless you have a way to back them up.