18 Months Later - Rehacking the V

[slickestsauce]

When I got my Optimus V in 2011 it was my first smartphone. I put on AOSPCMOD-OV-20110427 (2.3.3 GB) within 4 hours of bringing it home. Sadly, I've been utterly remiss in keeping up-to-date on anything regarding cell phones; over the past year and a half I've come to realize that my smartphone is a valuable tool and I'm ready to fix the problems the more novice me was fine with. I want MMS working. I want to be able to talk to people while I have headphones plugged in. I want better battery life. I want more free internal memory.

So, I was wondering if someone could help out a return newbie. The documentation on the individual ROM distributions seems to have left me at a bit of a loss; what's the "best" for functionality, battery life, and memory footprint? Am I ultimately just going to have to bite the bullet and try out each one to get a good idea for which is right? I have some paid apps like Swype and LauncherPro installed to my phone and would also like to know how to migrate those (and other phone-memory data) to a SD card so that I may drag those thoughts into the freshly lobotomized brain of my phone.

Please, grab me by the shirt collar and yell the basics in my face while shaking me violently. I don't even know what questions I should be asking... it's like I've forgotten everything about this stuff in a year and a half. Also, can the PRL change still be used with the new ROMs? I really like having coverage outside of my area

 

[atrain2324]

When I got my Optimus V in 2011 it was my first smartphone. I put on AOSPCMOD-OV-20110427 (2.3.3 GB) within 4 hours of bringing it home. Sadly, I've been utterly remiss in keeping up-to-date on anything regarding cell phones; over the past year and a half I've come to realize that my smartphone is a valuable tool and I'm ready to fix the problems the more novice me was fine with. I want MMS working. I want to be able to talk to people while I have headphones plugged in. I want better battery life. I want more free internal memory.

So, I was wondering if someone could help out a return newbie. The documentation on the individual ROM distributions seems to have left me at a bit of a loss; what's the "best" for functionality, battery life, and memory footprint? Am I ultimately just going to have to bite the bullet and try out each one to get a good idea for which is right? I have some paid apps like Swype and LauncherPro installed to my phone and would also like to know how to migrate those (and other phone-memory data) to a SD card so that I may drag those thoughts into the freshly lobotomized brain of my phone.

Please, grab me by the shirt collar and yell the basics in my face while shaking me violently. I don't even know what questions I should be asking... it's like I've forgotten everything about this stuff in a year and a half. Also, can the PRL change still be used with the new ROMs? I really like having coverage outside of my area

Sounds like you need Mirage CM7.2 based on your needs. His thread on it is easy and extensive, from installing down to using the Link2SD app/script to have that more free internal memory you want.

 

[upconvert]

If you want to be able to talk while using earbuds, I think the only ROM that has fixed that it theKraven's Cold as Ice. It's an awesome rom for the optimus S, with a patch to put it on the ov. Receiving mms is still spotty, but sending works fine. Also the jump to ics will blow your mind!

http://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-optimus-s-rooting-roms-hacks/156640-rom-cold-ice-cm9-sprint-ls670-10-13-zvd-basesband-alpha18.html

 

[bjzapp]

First of all, I'd like to say that it's not a "hack", its a ROM.
I favor & use MiRaGe's ROM- sound,stable, proven... whatever you may want to call it.
EVERY function works.

Use also the link2sd app after partitioning your SD. I would also so just buying a brand new SD card,
something bigger GB wise and class size wise to free up that small internal.
Certain and some apps and whatnot need to stay on internal however, as I've discovered through trial and error
Happy flashing!
Be sure to use a CM recovery!

 

[slickestsauce]

Thanks for the replies! I greatly appreciate the time you guys/gals are taking to help me out. I'm fairly certain I want to stick with GB until the ICS and JB stuff is equally polished. Also, I should be getting a 32 gig memory card in the next few days to replace this 6 year old 8 gig card I'm using... that's when I'm going to flash the phone. Is it possible/recommended to simply copy EVERYTHING from my old card to my new one, then use Link2SD to move the stuff currently on internal memory to the new card? Is there some kind of funky DRM that's going to stop this kind of thing?

I like what I'm reading about MiRaGe-CM7.2-IHO (mrg666) via this link - everyone seems to really like this one, and as far as I can determine it provides good battery life, isn't all about om nomming the storage, and the only issue is a camcorder/headset thing that I likely won't run into. How does Mirage compare to Harmonia 2 and bobZhome? From what I've read there are camera improvements in bobZ, and I was wondering if such benefits are exclusive to that ROM. One of my biggest disappointments with the OV is that the camera seems like utter garbage so I've basically given up trying to take pictures with it. If bobZ is the only way to get my camera functionality to acceptable levels then that's a pretty big consideration.

EDIT: it occurs to me that I may come off as a bit dumb - I'm not exactly clear on what's kernel and what's ROM. Oh, this wacky *nix stuff. Also, I'm not clear on whether I have an older or newer Optimus V - from what I've read in the reference guide (Start Here!) it depends on if you have 2.2.1 or 2.2.2, but since I replaced whatever I _DID_ have with 2.3.3 that's no help. Any other way to determine this? BTW, custom ROMs are indeed hacking, whereby a device or service's stock and/or intended functionality is altered or used for purposes not originally intended.

 

[koeylondon]

As a note: You can't really get more polished than TheKraven's CM9. While he has it listed as Alpha (because he's still releasing often fixing minor things), the battery life is around a day and a half with normal usage, and all normal phone functionality is present including MMS (yes, it gets spotty every now and again, but all it usually takes is a quick reboot). Also, his is the only ICS build with working HQ video because he's apparently a magician.

So basically, CM9 CAI is as functional (or more so) than almost any GB rom. Any other ICS rom is a crapshoot.

 

[slickestsauce]

As a note: You can't really get more polished than TheKraven's CM9. While he has it listed as Alpha (because he's still releasing often fixing minor things), the battery life is around a day and a half with normal usage, and all normal phone functionality is present including MMS (yes, it gets spotty every now and again, but all it usually takes is a quick reboot). Also, his is the only ICS build with working HQ video because he's apparently a magician.

So basically, CM9 CAI is as functional (or more so) than almost any GB rom. Any other ICS rom is a crapshoot.

I will be glad to give it a shot, do you have an Optimus V-related link? found it under the name Quattrimus ICS. According to getquattrimus.com there are still a number of issues with no workarounds.

That said, I'd like a GB rom I know I'll be happy with and can fall back on if CM9 CAI doesn't work out for me.

 

[Badboytoast]

Here's the link
http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=156640
Camera is awesome!!

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Sollsun]

+1 for Cold As Ice.

It's for the optimus S but there is a virgin mobile fix for the ROM on the second post that fixes the keys so they are right. Some of the touch keys are backwards until you flash the fix. Works better then the other ICS rons and everything works.

Quattrimus has not been updated in a long time and isn't as polished as Cold as Ice. I've tried Quattrimus, bobz's ics and jellybean but neither is as good and Cold as Ice which is still in active development and everything works with excellent battery.

Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Android Central Forums

 

[slickestsauce]

The more I look into CAI the more questions I have about it. Specifically, since I'm wandering about with an antiquated ZV4 do I have to change it to ZVD? Is there a comprehensive guide for getting CAI on a VM670? Everything I've found specifically regarding the OV and CAI refers to Quattrimus. The CAI thread is 158 pages long which is a bit much to process, so sorry if this stuff is already addressed in there.

On the CM7 front I'm still looking for comparisons between Harmonia 2, bobZhome, and mirage. Also, my questions regarding the memory card still stand... plus a bit of a twist since I read that you aren't supposed to use Link2SD with ICS. Would this somehow create issues in the context of my proposed idea?

 

[ebrown761]

right now my personal fav is XPERIA ICS FOR THE OPTIMUS V. But in any case, i try to use clodfelterac directions for an installing his XPERIA ICS port on any rom it takes a little longer but it should prevent issues-
1) Download and flash one of the required recoveries (Via flashible zip/FlashImageGUI/Terminal Emulator/or ADB)
2) Backup the contents of your sd card to your pc (Partitioning will wipe the sd card completely)
3) Partition your sd card to ?/0swap (In respect to the size of your sd card)(Larger partition = larger internal storage)
4) Copy your previously backed up sd contents to the freshly partitioned sd card (apps/music/pics/etc)
5) Download XperiaICS.zip/Gapps.zip to the root of your sd card (Not in any folders)
6) Format boot/system/data/cache/dalvik cache/sd-ext
7) Install XperiaICS.zip>reboot
8) Set system settings>reboot recovery
9) Format cache/dalvik cache
10) Install Gapps.zip>reboot
11) Sign in to Google account>activate Playstore>check for Superuser update
12) Inatall all your apps and whatnot>reboot recovery
13) Format cache/dalvik cache>reboot
14) Enjoy!!!
and any ROM you install at least for me ill get random reboots/glitches for few days after an install and then it all settle downs and is relatively glitch less i might still have a random reboot every week or so but that's fine by me

 

[tvall]

Ics is stable enough for daily use, and in many areas is better than even stock roms for many devices, but gb is still more polished.

I never used harmonia2 or BobZhome's rom, but I did use mirage before I made my rom. It is quite stable and very smooth.

My rom has a simplistic approach to it. It is modified very little from the original sources. There are only 3 major differences. It uses bobzhome's camera code, it has a tweaked kernel, and has app moving built in. I am heavily biased, so my opinion doesn't matter much.

 

[TheKyro]

I would say Mirage is the best out there, but there is one minor issue for my daily use:
* viber has some sound jumping issue: when speakermode is on during a conversation, it randomly turn speakermode off (or if you're using a headphones, sometimes it the sound randomly jumps back to the phone...)
It's annoying but the sound can be brought back by turning off/on speakermode (or by unplugging/pluging the headphone again)

 

[thewraith420]

When it comes to cm7 pick your flavor! They're all in excellent shape for daily use and only vary by the devs preference. Ics I'd have to say cai as it's currently the only one with hq video working and nearly has clock lag beat as well.

Tapatalk'n it from my VM670 running MiRaGe Cm7 on LS670ZVJ Baseband

 

[Sneaky_1]

When it comes to cm7 pick your flavor! They're all in excellent shape for daily use and only vary by the devs preference. Ics I'd have to say cai as it's currently the only one with hq video working and nearly has clock lag beat as well.

Tapatalk'n it from my VM670 running MiRaGe Cm7 on LS670ZVJ Baseband

Agreed.

My favorite CM7 roms are GingerDX (ics/jb themed cm7, with extras options), Mirage (a great light CM7 rom), and GingerSnap 2.2 (A nicely themed CM7, some fun widgets, and nice visual ui mods). All of these have everything working (as most of the cm7 roms), ie: mms, built-in infrastucture wifi tether, video, camera. And all are smooth, quick, and lean.

enjoy

 

[upconvert]

The more I look into CAI the more questions I have about it. Specifically, since I'm wandering about with an antiquated ZV4 do I have to change it to ZVD? Is there a comprehensive guide for getting CAI on a VM670? Everything I've found specifically regarding the OV and CAI refers to Quattrimus. The CAI thread is 158 pages long which is a bit much to process, so sorry if this stuff is already addressed in there.

On the CM7 front I'm still looking for comparisons between Harmonia 2, bobZhome, and mirage. Also, my questions regarding the memory card still stand... plus a bit of a twist since I read that you aren't supposed to use Link2SD with ICS. Would this somehow create issues in the context of my proposed idea?

I flashed Cai without changing my zv5 baseband. Also, the reason it says not to use link2sd is because it has a script that mounts the sd-ext and installs apps to it. You will probably never run out of space again, and won't have to give link2sd another thought. You could copy over all of your sd card stuff to your computer, back up your apps and data with titanium or whatever app you like, and restore it after you flash. That should cover anything from your old setup your worried about, but of course, make a nandroid backup before you flash anything.

The only reason i occasionally jump back to a gb Rom (check out gingersnap 2.2, by the way) is for wifi tethering.

You don't need to read the whole post. He' up to alpha 18, so a lot of the post is troubleshooting stuff that is irrelevant now. All you have to do is download the rom and gapps from the original post, and then the virginmobile patch from the second post. Be sure to download the patch that matches the rom you downloaded.

Since you'll have a fresh sd card to start, you can partition it in recovery, then flash the rom and gapps. Boot it up, the home and back buttons will be switched. Then reboot to recovery, flash the patch, and you'll be good to go.

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Android Central Forums

 

[slickestsauce]

T-Minus a few hours

My SD card came in the mail yesterday, so in a bit I'm going full-on geekmode and getting everything set up. It's still a tossup between CAI and Mirage's GB... I'd like to know for sure whether or not bobZhome's camera tweeks for the Optimus V are in Mirage's ROM, or if they can be injected. If not then I'll try CAI first, though the battery life with Mirage seems so spectacular that if the camera works better it's certainly what I'll go with. After watching a comparison video I just don't understand how ICS is natively such an improvement over GB that it's a must-have.

 

[adamhos]

You got ICysnap to add to your list to choose from now! Worth checking out

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

 

[upconvert]

After watching a comparison video I just don't understand how ICS is natively such an improvement over GB that it's a must-have.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Let us know what you think.


Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

 

[thewraith420]

But but.... It's newer and soooo shiny! It just has to be better! Lol

Honesty just make a nandroid backup and try out as many roms as you like until you find one that suits your needs.

Tapatalk'n it from my Cold As Ice VM670 running LS670ZVJ firmware