How to increase performance & memory of your Replenish and make it a nice phone.

RazzMaTazz

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The Replenish is a great bargain because Sprint's data plan for the Replenish is $10/month data less than other smartphones. But the Replenish is a relatively low-end phone and the lack of internal memory for apps can be frustrating. However, if you (1) install Phoenix-ROM, (2) install a custom kernel, and (3) you implement a memory-expanding utility like Link2SD or Data2SD, you'll find that the Replenish performs quite well and will have enough memory to install about as many apps as you could possibly want. Doing these things makes this low-end phone a very nice, very cost-effective solution for those who want an affordable Smartphone (with an affordable data plan) and don't need higher-end functionality like 3D-gaming, big screen, etc.

Disclaimers: Installing a custom ROM will technically void your warranty (which I think is only like 30 days anyway). And installing a custom ROM could destroy your phone. But I think the chances of you having a problem are very small, and the results are very worthwhile. This stuff isn't hard to do if you just follow the instructions at the following links. And you can always restore a stock Sprint ROM if you really want to do so for some reason.

1) Install Phoenix-ROM. Phoenix-ROM improves performance and removes the Sprint bloatware thereby giving you more useable memory for your apps (rather than for Sprint's apps). Even if you don't follow step 2 or 3 below, PhoenixROM will give your phone more memory and better performance. But Phoenix-ROM also supports the EXT4 file system which is faster and is basically required for moving your apps & app-data from your internal ROM to your SD card (as described in section 3 below). If you follow the instructions at the aforementioned link you'll also get root access and a custom recovery (Clockwork Mod Version 5.0 "CWM5"). Root access is nice because you can install root-access-only programs like Titanium Backup or WiFi tethering programs like FoxFi (from FoxFi's website). A custom recovery is nice because, among other things, it allows you to intall custom ROMs & custom kernels, and it allows you to backup and restore your entire phone through Nandroid backups. (Note: If you have any problem getting the Odin program to communicate with your phone, try a different USB port or a different PC.)

If you install PhoenixROM, I recommend that you edit the build.prop file in order to avoid getting a nagging "ROM update available" notification. Here's how.
Download the excellent free file-manager app called ES File Explorer and give it "Superuser" root access when it asks you upon installation. Use ES File Explorer to text-edit the build.prop file. (There are excellent video instructions at THIS LINK.) For Sprint customers, you'll need to change (text-edit) a few instances of "EK18" to "FA19". For Boost customers, you'll need to change any instances of"EK03" to "FB09". There are about 3-4 instances. It's easy to do. Just scroll through the text file and carefully edit it.

2) Install DMRLook's custom kernel, but only if you've installed Phoenix-ROM. DMRLook's custom kernel enables overclocking, etc. Read section 3 below before you decide to do this. You may also want to intall a free overclocking app from the Play Store. I use "No Frills CPU Control" to set up overclocking and a power-saving governor like "SmartAss". I overclock my Replenish to 748MHz which is a 25% performance increase over the stock 600MHz phone. (Note that the governor can automatically increase the clock speed on-demand when more performance is needed, and automatically decrease the clock speed otherwise to save power and extend battery life.) Some phones can be overclocked to higher speeds and some only to lower speeds, depending on each phone's innate CPU characteristics. You'll see CPU-speed options in your overclocking app. It's best to increase your CPU frequency one step at time and see how the phone works. If you increase the CPU speed too much, the phone will start to act funny and may crash so you'll need to revert to a slower CPU frequency. If the phone crashes because of excessive overclocking the any good overclocking app (like No Frills CPU) will sense the crash and not implement overclocking on the reboot in order to give you a chance to back down the overclocking setting.) Most Replenishes should easily be over-clockable to 748MHz, if not 806MHz. (I also set my minimum clock frequency to 245MHz, the governor to "Smartass", the I/O scheduler to "Noop", and I check the "Apply on boot" option.)

3) Create more memory space by moving your apps & data to your SD card using Link2SD method (which I use and recommend) or using the Data2SD method linked below. There are pros and cons to each method. Note that both of these methods of moving apps & data to your SD card create much more space than if you were to just use Android's built-in "Apps2SD" functionality (whereby you move parts of some apps using the Setting/Applications/Manage-Applications menu). The advantage of the Data2SD method is that it moves all of your apps & app-data to an SD card-partition thereby potentially giving you more useable space than you would have with the Link2SD method. (But see caveat below.) The disadvantage of the Data2SD method is that if anything goes wrong with your SD card or you remove it, the phone may become unusable. The advantage of Link2SD is that (with the exception of some critical Android system apps) you can choose which apps & app-data to move to the SD-card, so if your SD card fails or is removed, the phone will still work-- just not the apps on the SD card. (For that reason, in addition to keeping critical system apps on the phone, like the web browser and phone dialer, I also keep some of my recovery and safety apps in the phone's internal memory, like Titanium Backup, Where's My Droid, and LookOut so that I can always use, restore, and find my phone even if the SD card fails or is removed by a thief.) The disadvantage of Link2SD is that it doesn't create as much space as the Data2SD method. Both methods have a caveat in that the phone needs a certain amount of cache memory (which is in a different storage area of the phone) to support installed apps, regardless of whether those apps are in the phone's internal data partition or on an SD-card data partition. Therefore your phone will likely run out of cache memory long before you fill up a large data-partition on an SD card. For that reason, there's probably no reason to create an external data partition which is greater than 512MB (or maybe 1GB). I have not tried the Data2SD method, but for my needs, the Link2SD method creates more than enough space to install every app that I want (about 30 of them, so far), no problem. (Prior to implementing Link2SD, I was constantly getting "low on storage space" notifications, which caused lots of problems, like not being able to receive text messages. Now I never have a problem.) I guess that most people will find that the Link2SD method solves all of their "low memory" issues, so I recommend it. Besides, if you implement Link2SD and run out of space, you can always implement Data2SD to gain more space. Instructions follow for implementing the Link2SD and Data2SD methods. Both methods have a common first step of implementing an EXT4 partition on a fast SD card. Note that if you choose to implement the Data2SD method below, it will overwrite your kernel, so you should not bother with step 2 above.

Common step for both Link2SD & Data2SD: (a) Copy everything on your SD card to a folder on your PC or Mac so that you can move it back onto your SD card later. (b) The 2GB SD-card that came with your phone is almost certainly not fast enough, so get a fast (Class 4 or higher) micro SD card. (c) On your fast SD card, create two partions; an EXT4 file-system partition for your apps & app-data, and a FAT32 file-system partition for your photos, music, etc. (Your FAT32 partion will be accessible from your PC. Your EXT4 partition will only be accessible to your phone's operating system.) You can use a free PC tool like Mini Tool Partition Wizard to partition and format your SD card. (Instructional link here.) Per the cache-limitation caveat mentioned in the previous paragraph, a 512MB EXT4 partition should easily be big enough. (Note that with the Link2SD you'll also still have access to your phone's 160MB of internal memory so if you create a 512MB EXT4 partition, you have a total of 672MB of "internal" memory.) Anything more than 512MB would likely be unusable as a practical matter, but you could create a larger EXT4 partition (say 1GB) if you like. (d) Once you've created the two partitions, you should copy all the stuff from your old SD card (from your PC/Mac) to the FAT32 partition of your new SD card. Next you'll move your apps & app-data to your SD card's EXT4 partition using the Link2SD method or Data2SD method as explained below.

Link2SD Method: Install Link2SD (free) from the PlayStore and link (move) your apps to your SD card. (Instructional link here.) Once installed, give Link2SD Superuser "root" permission when it asks and tell it to link to your "EXT4" partition. You may need to restart the phone about twice. Then launch Link2SD and "link" your desired apps & data to your SD's card's EXT4 partition. Note that you can even move relatively high performance media apps to the SD card (like Sprint TV, YouTube, WinAmp, Pandora, etc.)

Data2SD Method: Implement Data2SD per Firehak's instructions at the PDF you'll find inside the "Replenish Data Partioning" zip folder. (Direct link here.)


For more info, you might want to check out THIS link.

NOTE: I strongly recommend that after you install PhoenixROM 0.2, you go into the CWM custom recover and do a "Nandroid" backup so that you can always restore your phone to that point. I also strongly recommend that after you set up the phone with the custom kernel and Link2SD you do another Nandroid backup.
 
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anon(538593)

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Nice write up, I'm sure this'll help a lot of new people. It would be nice if it could be sticky'ed, but I don't think any mods care about this section of the forum :'(

One recommendation though, you might want to switch sections 2 and 3. This is because going with section 3 option A installs a kernel based on the stock kernel, so it undoes section 2.
 

RazzMaTazz

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Thanks Rodya234. Good catch. I edited my original post to reflect your point that the Data2SD method would overwrite the kernel, thereby making step 2 uneccessary. I also added the pros and cons of the Link2SD & Data2SD methods.
 

simonberk

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Hi I installed phoeniX and now editied the build.prop file but still getting the update notification so I went back to check and I noticed a new file build.prop.bak next to the edited build.prop. the new file has the old ek18 back in it. What can I do?

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk 2
 

simonberk

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Thanks did it. Any advice for this noob wth a freshly rooted replenish with pheonix and custom kernal?

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk 2
 

simonberk

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  1. Overclock & implement Link2SD per my instructions above.
  2. Install Flash if it's of any use or interest to you.
  3. Use your cheap, but now fairly capable smartphone to arrange dates with cute girls.
1) done
2) link doesn't seem to work (edit: opened the link in stock browser and now it works. Thanks)
3) I don't think my wife would like if do that ;-)
 

itoikenza

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where/how exactly do i search for build.prop?

nevermind: i can't edit it anyway as i'm not rooted yet.

any chance someone can tell me if i'm doing things wrong in order to root my replenish?
i seem to be stuck at the "downloading" screen. immediately after i hold space + p,
in order to get to download mode it gives a caution screen which asks to hit up on volume
to proceed. then it just sits there, saying this:

ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SPH-M580 BST
CURRENT BINARY: OFFICIAL

DOWNLOADING...
 
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RazzMaTazz

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1) Did you download and extract the PhoeniX-ROM.zip file to a PC?
2) Are the USB drivers for the Replenish installed on your PC?
3) Does the phone connect to the PC and communicate properly over USB?
4) Is the phone connected to the PC via USB while you're doing the (space + p) combination of button-pushes?

I've pasted Firehak's instructions from the PhoenixROM post below for your convenience.

INSTRUCTIONS:
? Download/extract PhoeniX-ROM.zip from the below links
? Copy PhoeniX.zip to your sd card
? Reboot your phone to "download" mode (adb.exe reboot download or hold space + p during boot)
? Open the included odin
? Select "One Package" if not already checked in the options area
? Click the ops button to search for the included "SPHM580.ops"
? Now click the One Package button to search for "PhoeniX.tar"
? Click start, and hold U on your phone as soon as it reboots to enter recovery mode (CWM5)
? Once CWM5 starts, click install from sdcard
? Choose zip from sdcard
? Navigate to "PhoeniX.zip"
? Obviously choose yes to install
? Sit back and watch the magic, reboot when it finishes.
 

itoikenza

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got it..

but how do i now stop the annoying update prompts... i tried to replace "build.prop" via androzip pro. but that was before i was rooted.. will try soon...
 

itoikenza

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what should i replace? just to be sure... just how? oh how do i make androzip pro make build.prop have write access.? or is it done some other way
 

simonberk

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what should i replace? just to be sure... just how? oh how do i make androzip pro make build.prop have write access.? or is it done some other way

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong but u need to replace all occurences of EK18 with FA19.
I used ES file explorer. U need to give it superuser permissions when askes
 

RazzMaTazz

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itoikenza:
In my original post (section #1) I explained how to edit the build.prop file and I included a link to an excellent video showing you EXACTLY how to do it. Read and follow the instructions. If you don't understand something in the instructions, let us know. But read and follow the instructions.
 

simonberk

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itoikenza:
In my original post (section #1) I explained how to edit the build.prop file and I included a link to an excellent video showing you EXACTLY how to do it. Read and follow the instructions. If you don't understand something in the instructions, let us know. But read and follow the instructions.

+1
That's how I learned the ropes