New to the Customization Area

[chrisingrassia]

Hi everyone, my name's Chris, and I am completely new to the world of rooting, hacking, putting on ROMs, etc. But after going through the thread "Let's See Those Home Screens," I can unequivocally say that there are some serious customization opportunities that I'd like to start exploring, particularly the lock screen, home screen, widgets, and overall layout. The problem? I don't know how to do any it myself. But I'm computer and technology-adept, so I can easily learn if someone is willing to teach me and/or send me links or whatnot that may have detailed instructions.

For instance, on page 35 of "Let's See Those Home Screens," dollface54 posted a picture of Elegant theme for ADW with Lost Exhibit clock skin for mClock....and I'm drooling . Do these custom home screens and lock screens and widgets require me to root my phone? If so, I was under the assumption that ROOT was causing problems with LOS, no 4G, Bluetooth, and other issues. I see these terms like kernel, flash, ODIN, etc, etc, all over the boards, but don't really understand what I'm reading and how it pertains specifically to my phone.

I'd love to personalize my Android phone......after all, isn't that why I don't use the iPhone? Any help or guidance would be much appreciated. I'm sure there are others out there like me that want to do stuff, but don't know how to start or just need a helping hand.

 

[JayWill]

You don't need root to get any of the looks you see in that homescreen pic thread. All are done with applications available on the market.

 

[chrisingrassia]

You don't need root to get any of the looks you see in that homescreen pic thread. All are done with applications available on the market.

Seriously?!?! You guys had me fooled. I thought I had to root for sure. Do these apps, like ADW and Widget Locker, just run on top of TouchWiz? Does this mean that TouchWiz and ADW(etc) run simultaneously, clogging up my RAM and avail memory?

 

[TheMacs]

Welcome aboard Chris.

Lots of threads here that will get you going (hooked, addicted... ) Milo's Android and SGS2 stickys are must-read. There are a whole bunch of jumping-off points inside his threads to keep you busy/playing for quite some time.

You can do a lot of customizing without rooting (via apps and widgets), and a whole lot more after rooting, if you go that "route" (pun intended).

I'd suggest starting with apps/widgets to see if you get what you want that way [many use a different launcher (Go Launcher EX and ADW Launcher are two of the more popular ones), and there are (almost) bazillions of widgets (I am partial to widget locker for your lockscreen) to keep you entertained].

Rooting does not ruin your phone. And you can get back to stock if you so desire. The auto root sticky is currently en vogue as the safest root method.

Lastly, the folks here are very very good at helping out whenever needed (which for me can be often ).

Good luck!

 

[JayWill]

Seriously?!?! You guys had me fooled. I thought I had to root for sure. Do these apps, like ADW and Widget Locker, just run on top of TouchWiz? Does this mean that TouchWiz and ADW(etc) run simultaneously, clogging up my RAM and avail memory?

Yes they run on top of Touchwiz, but they don't take much in the way of additional resources. You'll barely notice it in either your battery or RAM. Rooting does allow you to uninstall Touchwiz if you're using a different launcher like ADW or Go Launcher, but it really isn't necessary.

 

[chrisingrassia]

Yes they run on top of Touchwiz, but they don't take much in the way of additional resources. You'll barely notice it in either your battery or RAM. Rooting does allow you to uninstall Touchwiz if you're using a different launcher like ADW or Go Launcher, but it really isn't necessary.

So if you can run custom launchers, OS's, lock screen, and widgets.....and a whole bunch of other through-the-market apps to customize, what's the primary reason for rooting? I'm guessing it's so you can tether for free?

 

[JayWill]

So if you can run custom launchers, OS's, lock screen, and widgets.....and a whole bunch of other through-the-market apps to customize, what's the primary reason for rooting? I'm guessing it's so you can tether for free?

Well, I'd venture to bet that's why you're average person roots. I root for additional mods, themes, speed tweaks, battery saving tweaks, the ability to uninstall system applications, change my boot animation and sound, and on and on.

From a theming perspective, I attached some shots of the ICS like theme I'm running now, which is a combination of ROM and the Go Launcher ICS theme. You see it most in the status bar at the top and the dialer.

But for most screen theming, you can do it with a homescreen replacement launcher and widget locker. Go Launcher also has a built in lockscreen replacement that's getting better. I prefer Go Launcher to ADW but it's a personal thing.

Good luck!

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[TheMacs]

I rooted mainly for the tethering, but secondarily for the overclocking. Though to be honest, the GS2 doesn't really need it yet - out of the box it's very fast. Also rooted to be able to backuo via Titanium Backup (highly recommended, but there are other backup apps). Also rooted to be able to run AdFree (again highly recommended).

Both replacement launcers are nice, but TouchWiz is fine too. Widget Locker is a must-have to me - my lockscreen is pretty busy.

 

[chrisingrassia]

Rooting sure would be nice to be able to get rid of all the bloatware BS that Samsung and Sprint loaded the phone with (i.e. Books, Latitude, Polaris Office, Sprint Hotspot/Zone/ID/Mobile/etc, not to mention TouchWiz). And being able to tether sure would be handy too if Comcast decides to rape me on HSI come next month.

If you root the E4GT, does that automatically remove touchwiz? What OS takes its place upon startup?

 

[dtm_stretch]

Rooting sure would be nice to be able to get rid of all the bloatware BS that Samsung and Sprint loaded the phone with (i.e. Books, Latitude, Polaris Office, Sprint Hotspot/Zone/ID/Mobile/etc, not to mention TouchWiz). And being able to tether sure would be handy too if Comcast decides to rape me on HSI come next month.

If you root the E4GT, does that automatically remove touchwiz? What OS takes its place upon startup?

Rooting actually doesn't remove anything it adds superuser and the associated files to run it. But, once you've rooted you can install a custom recovery, ie clockworkmod, then flash roms that will feature other launchers instead of touching. If you don't want to install a rom then once you are rooted you can install a file manager like root explorer and remove the tw launcher but you have to have another launcher installed. Oh also fun fact; unless you are running cm7, aosp or miui then the rom will always be touchwiz.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[bklyn]

I highly recommend rooting, although it can be addictive. Some advantages include longer battery life, overclocking, more themes, and free tethering.

There are some great YouTube videos by qbking77 on the E4GT.

[ACS] [How to] Root, Clockworkmod, Flash Roms, Unroot, Tips (24 videos) 12/9/11 - xda-developers

 

[chrisingrassia]

I highly recommend rooting, although it can be addictive. Some advantages include longer battery life, overclocking, more themes, and free tethering.

There are some great YouTube videos by qbking77 on the E4GT.

[ACS] [How to] Root, Clockworkmod, Flash Roms, Unroot, Tips (24 videos) 12/9/11 - xda-developers

Oh man...thanks!!! I'm seriously torn between rooting and not rooting. I've never rooted a phone before, but better battery life, tethering, and themes would eb pretty sweet. Plus it would be great to uninstall all the crap that sprint put on my phone.

I did download ADW Launcher EX, Widget Locker, and Beautiful Widgets last night. How do I get themes going? Are they downloaded from the Market or through the app? I see lots of links in the "let's see your home screens" to XDA sites....what is that about? How do I preview first a theme? I'll admit, I'm a noob, but I will certainly check out that XDA link and watch the vids. Thanks!!!

 

[JayWill]

Oh man...thanks!!! I'm seriously torn between rooting and not rooting. I've never rooted a phone before, but better battery life, tethering, and themes would eb pretty sweet. Plus it would be great to uninstall all the crap that sprint put on my phone.

I did download ADW Launcher EX, Widget Locker, and Beautiful Widgets last night. How do I get themes going? Are they downloaded from the Market or through the app? I see lots of links in the "let's see your home screens" to XDA sites....what is that about? How do I preview first a theme? I'll admit, I'm a noob, but I will certainly check out that XDA link and watch the vids. Thanks!!!

Launcher themes, like those for ADW are downloaded from the market. They work on any phone running that launcher, and only change the look of your home screens, app drawer and app icons. ROM themes are built specifically for a particular phone, and often times for a particular ROM, since they change specific aspects of the system framework. These often change much more of the phone's operating system, like the status bar icons, notification pulldown window, and other system Apps like the SMS app, Calendar, Dialer etc. ROM themes require root and often times you have to be running a specific ROM.

Here are a couple examples of Themes built for specific ROMs for this phone:

MattedBlues: [THEME][PORT][ACS]MattedBlues[12/20/11]EL13 Based - xda-developers

ICS: [THEME][ACS]ICS Theme[12/21/11]Updated EL13 Love - xda-developers

You CAN use both a Launcher theme and ROM theme at the same time. You will also see XDA links to App based themes that people have done with Apps like Widget Locker and mClock. It's best to read around and you'll get the hang of it after a bit.

 

[DataHawg]

I use ADW EX Launcher on all my Roms rooted or not. I download the Honeycomb and ICS themes for ADW just so I can use the custom app icons. I usually don't even apply the themes but I like all the extra icons that become available.

 

[srkmagnus]

Most people are unsure about rooting. But once they root there's no going back, ever . So much is opened up, in terms of optimization and hacks to further improve the device.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

 

[mirokusan1]

Greetings Forum browsers,

I'm new here...could I get some feedback on my simple housing mod to the Samsung Epic 4G Touch? Forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong thread.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78322381@N06/6864629984/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78322381@N06/6864629872/in/photostream/

 

[sirkuttin]

I root because of super tweaked roms giving me faster performance while underclocking (800mhz) and undervolting(-100mV) for amazing battery life. Calkulin is my hero on this.

Another thing I did was install a corporate PRL to give me better roaming support.

Also removing and freezing system apps have improved battery life.

I also have my little optimus S rooted because I have MIUI 4 based off of ICS. That is just crazy cool.

 

[mirokusan1]

This is yet another housing mod idea I got from the sgp branded cases. Please keep in mind that you will void your warranty by opening the housing.

hybrid 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

hybrid 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[VDub2174]

As most have mentioned here already, I rooted for the various tweaks and freezing/removal of bloatware. I do use the free wifi tethering from time to time as well.

I highly recommend rooting, although it can be addictive. Some advantages include longer battery life, overclocking, more themes, and free tethering.

There are some great YouTube videos by qbking77 on the E4GT.

[ACS] [How to] Root, Clockworkmod, Flash Roms, Unroot, Tips (24 videos) 12/9/11 - xda-developers

^^This!!

qbking77 has some amazing videos on YouTube that are extremely helpful. I'm more of a visual learner and watched his vids on rooting multiple times before doing it myself. Once I did root my phone, I felt comfortable going through the steps. He even has vids on flashing certain ROMs.

 

[srkmagnus]

What vDub said. Rooting was a must when I had my Sprint Hero and I never thought I would have to with better devices, such as the E4GT, but I was wrong. The device is great from the Manufacture and even better with root access and the support provided by the developer community.