Push me of the ledge into the Jelly Bean jar

[TabGuy]

Ok, everything seems perfect about Jelly Bean. No one seems to have any major issues. The climate is right for a noob like me to jump into the candy jar and partake. However, I'll need some hand holding.

I've never rooted, unlocked, backed up, installed a rom. Nothing. I'm a virgin.

Is there a step by step soup to nuts install guide for JB on VZN?

I've watched some videos and looked at some web sites but they always hint at things I should already know. "Make sure you backup first." "Use ROM manager." "You need to be super user." "Wipe everything first."

These are all fine pieces of advice but I wouldn't know where to go to get instructions for them all. And, my worst fear, is that I forgot to do something I didn't know I was supposed to do.

I'll be fine if there is a step-by-step set of instructions (including rooting, unlocking, backing up, installing rom, etc.) laid out in front of me based upon a stock GN phone.

Any links you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I also would like a video to go along with that as I'm a visual learner.

Thanks in advance...

 

[dmmarck]

Ok, everything seems perfect about Jelly Bean. No one seems to have any major issues. The climate is right for a noob like me to jump into the candy jar and partake. However, I'll need some hand holding.

I've never rooted, unlocked, backed up, installed a rom. Nothing. I'm a virgin.

Is there a step by step soup to nuts install guide for JB on VZN?

I've watched some videos and looked at some web sites but they always hint at things I should already know. "Make sure you backup first." "Use ROM manager." "You need to be super user." "Wipe everything first."

These are all fine pieces of advice but I wouldn't know where to go to get instructions for them all. And, my worst fear, is that I forgot to do something I didn't know I was supposed to do.

I'll be fine if there is a step-by-step set of instructions (including rooting, unlocking, backing up, installing rom, etc.) laid out in front of me based upon a stock GN phone.

Any links you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I also would like a video to go along with that as I'm a visual learner.

Thanks in advance...

For basics, check out my Don't Panic guide and the first few posts in my Jelly Bean guide. That'll cover most of the concepts, and then I can work with you from there--if you want.

 

[ConTejas]

It may seem rather like a rather intimidating process but you'll laugh at yourself, perhaps even kick yourself, for not doing it earlier. It's a very simple process, especially if you use a toolkit to unlock/root (like Wug's). I read for days/weeks on end and would've loved to see the look on my face a) once I was unlocked/rooted in a few minutes b) when I started finding all the cool and useful additons in custom roms like AOKP. They only make things better..all the stock functionality remains. Really impresses me how they outdo Google continually. In the unlikely event you run into issues or are unsure about something during the process, just post on this forum and you'll receive "professional" help within minutes. Definitely a helpful and friendly forum. Read the first page or so of the stickies in the rooted section and JUMP IN

 

[turdbogls]

this is a very quick and dirt (as in not too much detail) method...from stock to unlocked, rooted, JB.
this is all off the top of my head so i may have missed something...if you have a question about any steps hit me up via google talk
download Wugs root toolkit
backup any content you want from your nexus's internal memory to your PC (unlocking wipes everything off the device)
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...us-root-toolkit-v1-5-2-updated-7-14-12-a.html
install drivers
connect phone with usb debugging checked (settings>developer options) to the PC
backup all your user apps and data with the toolkit to your PC
unlock the bootloader (it is literally clicking a button)(phone should reboot i believe)
i think you have to click something on the phone screen too..just accept it.
root it (it is literally clicking a button)
once rooted, restore your user apps using the tool kit and your other stuff you backed up by dragging and dropping
download ROM manager from the play store
open it up, grant SU permission
install ClockworkMOD recovery (highly suggest using touch recovery, but again it is up to you)
you now have CWM recovery installed
you can use other methods to install it (ADB) or install TeamWinRecovery through another method. it is up to you, but CWM is easy and works every time.

so now you are rooted on stock Software with an unlocked bootloader

power down the device
hold volume up and down and then hold power button (all at the same time)
you will get to the bootloader screen (should say unlocked at the botton) press volume up/down until it says recovery at the top...then press power.

it will now boot into CWM recovery (hopefully)
use up/down volume to navigate and power to select
go to backup/restore
choose backup
and let it run until it is finished.
you now have a backup. of stock OS so if anything goes wrong, boot up the way mentioned above, and choose restore and let it run

reboot the device.
purchase Titanium backup Pro key and download TI backup...its worth it...believe me
open it up, grant SU permission
hit the folder with check mark in upper right corner
and under "backup" hit the RUN button next to "backup all user apps" (NEVER backup or restore system apps)
let it run.

download the JB bootloader (optional but a good idea), JB ROM of your choice, and the GAPPS from the original thread (please verify all MD5 sums before flashing...i useES file explorer>longpress the file>properties>show checksum>check MD5>calculate and make sure they match the numbers from the download page) and place them on your internal memory somewhere (i usually make a folder called A_android and place a ROM,GAPPS,themes,others folder in there to sort everything...its up to you how you want to do it)

backup call logs and SMS messages if you want with apps from the play store
make sure your contacts are all synced with your google account

once you have everything on the internal memory
you can use ROM manager or other apps to boot into recovery (or use the method above)
once you are in CWM recovery
choose
Wipe data factory reset>yes
wipe cache>yes
mounts and storage>format system>yes
install .zip from SD card
navigate to the JB ROM and select it
choose Yes
let it install (~ 3-5 minutes)
then navigate to the GAPPS and choose Yes
let those install (> 1 minute)
chosoe "go back"
reboot device.
let it boot...if it goes for more than 10 minutes you probably did something wrong. either wipe those things again, and reflash the ROM and GAPPS or restore you backup)

once booted you will be on Jelly Bean.
i usually skip signing in at the beginning and just open up the market, sign in there, download titanium and the pro key
open up titanium
grant SU permission
hit the page and check mark thing in the upper right
under "restore"
hit the "RUN" button next to "restore missing apps with data"
and let it run.
once finished, you are going to have to set up your home screens again, and restore your SMS backup and call log backup but everything else should be good to go.

it seems long when typing it out, but it actually takes much longer to type it than do it.
its a pretty painless job, and you can always flash stock fairly easily on a Nexus. so dont fret too much if you screw something up.

jsut read for a solid day or 2 and you should be good.

 

[TabGuy]

Wow, you guys are great. Looks like I've got my weekend project set.

One question. What is the difference between the ROM and the kernel? Do I install both? Do they come together?

One more question: With so many versions of JB floating around, which Jelly Bean jar do I jump into? Which one gets the most love and fixes? Is there a comparison table of features?

Ok, one final question. I hear the term "nightly's" thrown around. Does that mean that there's a nightly upgrade? Does it wipe the phone each time a nightly is installed?

Thanks to all for the help.

 

[davey11]

Wow, you guys are great. Looks like I've got my weekend project set.

One question. What is the difference between the ROM and the kernel? Do I install both? Do they come together?

One more question: With so many versions of JB floating around, which Jelly Bean jar do I jump into? Which one gets the most love and fixes? Is there a comparison table of features?

Ok, one final question. I hear the term "nightly's" thrown around. Does that mean that there's a nightly upgrade? Does it wipe the phone each time a nightly is installed?

Thanks to all for the help.

Rom is an acronym that stands for Read only memory. It is basically the operating system of the phone. A kernel is a seperate piece of software that takes commands from the rom and tells the hardware to execute those commands. A kernel can also provide hardware tweaks like cpu clockspeed, voltage tweaks, screen color adjustments etc. Most all roms come packaged with a kernel, but it is super easy to switch out to a different one.

ATM probably the most developed rom is jellybro by euroskank. Has toggles, and other mods that the other roms don't have right now.

At the present state of jelly bean, it is probably in your best interest to install nightlys as they come out. It is evolving quickly and each new nightly has added features not found on an earlier build. But installing a nightly and just leaving it on for an extended period is fine. They are very stable.

 

[PostmanPat]

Wow, you guys are great. Looks like I've got my weekend project set.

One question. What is the difference between the ROM and the kernel? Do I install both? Do they come together?

One more question: With so many versions of JB floating around, which Jelly Bean jar do I jump into? Which one gets the most love and fixes? Is there a comparison table of features?

Ok, one final question. I hear the term "nightly's" thrown around. Does that mean that there's a nightly upgrade? Does it wipe the phone each time a nightly is installed?

Thanks to all for the help.

I'm new to this stuff myself, but thanks to dmmarck's fantastic guide and Wug's Toolkit I've been able to try out a couple of ROMs with great success, here's some info that my help.

The ROM contains the operating system and the kernel contains the interfacing stuff to the hardware, you need both to make the phone work. In addition to these you'll also need a version of the Google Apps package, you can flash them separately to mix and match you preferred combination, but in my case I just went with something I could do in one shot.

When I asked for dmmarck's advice on a good 'stock' ROM with the most stability and good support he suggested BuglessBeast (BB). I'm currently on the 7-19 version. The download is around 225MB and it contains everything you'll need (kernel/rom/gapps) to install the new ROM once you've done all the pre-requisite steps (unlock/root etc) from dmmarck's guide.

As far as the nightlies is concerned, I've heard that most of the other ROMs will get nightly updates to add new features and options while the BB dev tends to only update with fixes (to make it bugless!) so unless the changelog indicates a fix for an issue you're having you may not need to update immediately.
Also I believe that once you've got BB, you can do a 'dirty flash' of BB, where only the new stuff is added so you shouldn't lose any of the settings/data you've spent hours putting on there... but I'm new to this so I'm getting a little outside my expertise when it comes to that.

Keep coming back if you need more info...there are some excellent folks on this forum who will be glad to help if you get stuck.

 

[Erckul]

Here is the link to a good step by step video using the toolkit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y3Lm6feyGI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[DBVille]

OP - I was in the same spot as you a week ago. I decided I would try JB and see what happens. Follow dmmarck's guides, and no problem. I screwed something up and had to root it twice. Worried me a little bit, but from what I can tell, you can almost always fix one of these.

Here is what I have learned:

1. The guides all assume you know something about rooting/flashing and can be confusing. dmmarck's "Don't Panic Guide" is the BEST and explaining these things. Not the most detailed on some aspects, but the clearest.

2. Backup everything before you root it. This is the only time when you loose your data. After you root it, you can get Titanium Backup to backup everything. Get "SMS Backup & Restore" to backup your text messages. But, you MUST copy them all off the phone to root it.

2.A Backup before you install a new ROM. You loose a lot installing new ROMs, so do a backup and ROM backup. Takes 10 minutes to do both and if you have any problems, you are good.

3. Enjoy. Have fun. I installed the latest nightly of Bugless Beast over lunch the other day.

If you have problems, post up here and somebody who knows something will help....I won't be able to help...I'm still learning.

PS. I am on Bugless Beast. I've tried a couple of others, but it seems fast and stable. I'll probably try a couple of others today.

 

[evperry]

What is the point of unlocking the phone? Is that necessary?

Is it possible to just root and not unlock the phone?

Since flash is the not setup fro JB yet does that mean that my current ice cream can play videos that the new JB cannot?

Thanks

 

[dmmarck]

What is the point of unlocking the phone? Is that necessary?

Is it possible to just root and not unlock the phone?

Since flash is the not setup fro JB yet does that mean that my current ice cream can play videos that the new JB cannot?

Thanks

No, you need to unlock the device in order to flash unsigned zips/packages; essentially, you need to in order to flash roms.

There is a trick to root without unlocking, but I have no idea what the one click software does to get to that point.

And I have no idea, I don't use flash .

 

[evperry]

What is one click software? Do they have it for mac?

No, you need to unlock the device in order to flash unsigned zips/packages; essentially, you need to in order to flash roms.

There is a trick to root without unlocking, but I have no idea what the one click software does to get to that point.

And I have no idea, I don't use flash .

 

[dmmarck]

What is one click software? Do they have it for mac?

There was something for the Mac but I honestly forget what it's called.

One click = you press a button and it does a bunch of commands to unlock you, root you, etc. Good to use in a pinch but unless you know what it's doing I find them to be counterproductive and misleading.

 

[evperry]

What do you mean by counterproductive and misleading?

Essectially I have zero desire to learn the process to unlock, root, etc. If I can get flash to work and get a 1 click program to get me to Jellybean, Im all in.

There was something for the Mac but I honestly forget what it's called.

One click = you press a button and it does a bunch of commands to unlock you, root you, etc. Good to use in a pinch but unless you know what it's doing I find them to be counterproductive and misleading.

 

[dmmarck]

What do you mean by counterproductive and misleading?

Essectially I have zero desire to learn the process to unlock, root, etc. If I can get flash to work and get a 1 click program to get me to Jellybean, Im all in.

Because without understanding what it's doing, trying to troubleshoot down the line becomes quite a sticky situation.

I understand why folks like it--I did it for the Incredible. But you should also have a basic understanding of what unlocking means (and does), what rooting means (and does), and how the entire process comes together.

If you're interested in that, my Don't Panic guide breaks everything down .

 

[Run L1ke H3LL]

i followed turdbogls guide to jelly bean.
i flashed bugless beast and restored everything with titanium but how do i get the contents of my sd card back? (pics, downloads etc.)

 

[TabGuy]

Ok, here's my progress. I'm stuck right now and need help.

Thanks to all your help here I successfully unlocked and rooted my phone. Good first step.

Then I did the Clockworkmod and Titanium backup. Thank God. See why later.

Then I downloaded ROM manager. I noticed in ROM Manager I could download DroidVicious if I bought the premium version of RM. I did. I downloaded and installed DroidVicious V1. I got the glowing X on reboot and, after a while, I was in Jelly Bean. Woohoo!

I downloaded and installed some my apps including Apex. I played with Google Now. It's smooth, very smooth. And fast. I love it.

I decided before I got things looking too pretty and install all my apps again I'll try a new ROM. I saw that there was a DroidVicious version 5 in ROM Manager. That's when everything went to hell. I installed DroidVicious version 5. It all looked fine and I got the glowing X. But it never booted into JB. After 2 hours the glowing X was still glowing. Damn.

I eventually pull the battery. I get into recovery and go back to ICS. I download ROM Manager and try to get the premium version. No can do. It doesn't say "Purchased" it says $5.99. Nothing I do will let me download it. Damn.

I go online and download a JB ROM suggested here. Turns out it's DroidVicious V1. The instructions say to put it in the SD card. But I see no SD card in Windows Explorer. Yes, I'm in debug mode, but there's no SD card. Damn.

I go back into the Play Store. It's been 20 minutes since I've been in ICS. Ah, now it says "Purchased" on ROM Manager premium. Whew! I download the unlock key for RM. I download and install DroidVicious V1 again. I feel safe with that one. It seemed to be stable.

Sigh. I've been in the boot glowing X for about a half hour now. Damn. There's not much I can do but let it sit there hoping something will change. But I don't have much hope.

Help me Obiwan, you're my only hope!!!

 

[TabGuy]

Ok, I think I'm good for now.

I pulled the battery. I rebooted into recovery. I cleared the cache partition. I did a factory reset. In about 3 minutes it booted into 4.1.1.

Whew! I think I'll enjoy Jelly Bean for a while before I go through this again.