I am old but I want 2.3

[Dave Begue]

Probably doing this wrong, but I need help. I want 2.3 on my OV. For a new person like me it's really confusing all the different methods and options involved in putting 2.3 on my phone for myself. Is there one simple best way to do it that even I would be capable of? My phone is
2.2.2
vm670zv5_60401001
2.6.32.9 lge@android-build #4
zv5.41coe845
vm670zv5
1.2

So - I am old and not that smart, but I am very good at following instructions. Even though I probably broke a bunch of forum rules by posting this - Dave

 

[MasterTec]

I just upgraded mine to the unofficial IHO system rom but it's not what I would call an "easy" process. It's not just a matter of simply installing an app. It's also risky.. as the process basically involves backing up your apps, wiping your phone's memory, installing the new os and then restoring your apps. It will also void your phone's warranty.

It's not really super difficult but you need to make sure you understand the risks because there's always the chance of messing something up and then you're making a trip to target with $100 in your hand to replace the phone.

Beyond this it's pretty much a step-by-step process.

In a nutshell here's what you have to do. Click on the links below to get the necessary files and to see more detailed explanations:

1>First you have to root your phone. The best way to do this on your 2.2.2 is with the "Gingerbreak" method. You have to install the phone drivers on your windows computer and connect the phone to it to root it and to copy the new image files to your SD card (although you can probably use an SD card reader to copy the files).

2>Next you have to install a program to back up your apps (if you care about them). I recommend Titanium backup. Back up EVERYTHING. I recommend once this is done that you go through and uninstall any app (from android, not from Titanium backup) that you have installed to the SD Card. This will help keep things clean on the SD Card so you won't have multiple copies of the different programs scattered about after all is said and done.

3> After that you have to install a recovery image. This is pretty much a simple matter of installing a free app and following the directions. Then you will boot into recovery to back up the original ROM and to format the phone's partitions.

4> Then you have to install the new ROM and a separate GAPPS ROM to get market on the new build as Google won't allow this to be "packaged" with the rom. I also installed a custom "Green Machine" theme at that time as well as I think it looks pretty wicked.

5> Then you reboot.. and make sure everything works. If it does then play with it for a minute or two and reboot it again just to make sure everything is on the up and up (a second reboot will bring things back up to speed).

6> Reinstall titanium backup and restore all of your apps. Do NOT restore any of the old system apps. Once all was up and running I deleted all of the backed up files through Titanium and made new backups of everything. I HATE having multiple copies scattered about.

7> BAM! You're done! I was afraid that I might lost the phone's settings (phone number, contacts, etc) so I wrote down EVERYTHING but it was refreshing to see that I didn't have to. YMMV.

The only issues I had was with Swype. First I installed the new "Swype beta" as IHO doesn't come with it and it was working well but seemed a bit slow. I realized that I had a backup in Titanium of the original Swype that was prepackaged with 2.2.2 so I uninstalled the new Swype beta and installed the backup of the old one. It didn't like that one bit as I got constant "Swype crashed" messages until I uninstalled it and rebooted.

Then I put Swype beta back on and all seemed well. Then I played around with the overclock settings and shortly after that a game caused my phone to lock up (probably due to me pushing it too hard). When I rebooted Swype started crashing on me again!

This time I restored my overclock settings back to their original settings and rebooted. Swype was still crashing so I uninstalled it and reinstalled it. It worked fine for awhile but after I rebooted for some reason it was crashing yet again! So this time I uninstalled it and made sure all traces of it were gone. Then I rebooted. All was well. I decided maybe I just wouldn't be able to have Swype with IHO.

After playing around with the settings I saw something called "Desktop Hack" which was enabled and it said something like "if apps are crashing on boot disable this option" so I disabled it (and noticed nothing different as a result). Then I reinstalled Swype yet again and everything has been working perfectly ever since! I even figured out that once you turn off Haptic Feedback and Sound for Swype that it works just as fast as the original version did!

Here are some links to help you get started:

MODDING THE V BEGINNER'S GUIDE: http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...guide-optimus-v-modding-read-get-started.html

HOW-TO ROOT/RECOVERY/ROM (The Three ARRS) GUIDE: http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...-how-simplified-root-recovery-custom-rom.html

IHO 7.1 GUIDE AND DOWNLOADS: http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...inferior-human-organs-unofficial-cm7-1-a.html

 

[wagonburner]

As far as swype I used swyperestore.apk that I found over at xda and restore from a nandroid backup. Also you have to edit build.prop file to read ro.product.model=VM670
ro.product.brand=VirginMobile it works flawlessly.

 

[Dannemand]

MasterTech: Thanks a lot for posting this writeup and sharing your experience.

I have been contemplating this move for awhile, and read through the stickies and the entire IHO thread. Your post is a great help.

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

 

[digical]

in step 2 make sure no system apps are selected. I only copy the apps + data that I've downloaded

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Tapatalk

 

[redhat#AC]

fastest way to get 2.3 on your phone would be to root your phone with gingerbreak 1.2.apk, just pop it onto your sdcard and open on the phone with a file manager like es file explorer, it will install to your phone then you can select it from your apps and click root phone.
if it sits longer than 10-15mins just pull the battery and run it again, when it works it will reboot your phone.
once thats done download clockworkmod from market and select the first option in its menu "install recovery" it will load a list of phones select optimus v. then you will get a pop up asking for root allow it, and it will install software to allow you to load a new os.
now download the new os
VMU670-CM7.1-RC1-IHO-PURE-XIONIA-09042011.zip
and these:
http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip
http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110828-newtalk-signed.zip
and copy them to your sdcard.
now open clockwork recovery and select reboot to recovery
once in recovery use the volume up and down to navigate the menus, the camera button to select options and the back button to go back.
now select backup and restore and back up
once thats finished go back to the main menu and select mounts and storage
select:
format /boot
format /cache
format /data
format /system
then go back to main menu, select advanced, and wipe dalvik cache.
then back again and select install zip from sd > choose zip from sd, and select the iho pure zip file
after its done install the gapps signed.zip and then the newtalk.zip.
when all thats done return to the main menu and select reboot system now.
first boot with the new os will take a while, around 8-10mins.
once its done you will fine the android setup wizard go ahead and set it up. and when its done reboot the phone. and your done.

 

[JerryScript]

If you have one of the newer Optimus V phones, do not try using ClockworkMod from the market, it doesn't have the proper drivers enabled in the recovery kernel, so you will get a black screen.

So, if you bought your Optimus V within the past couple of months, you will need to use the flash_image method to put a new recovery on your phone, and it will have to be either IHO recovery, the rebuilt xionia recovery by Whyzor, or the modified IHO recovery by emuzombie.

 

[redhat#AC]

If you have one of the newer Optimus V phones, do not try using ClockworkMod from the market, it doesn't have the proper drivers enabled in the recovery kernel, so you will get a black screen.

So, if you bought your Optimus V within the past couple of months, you will need to use the flash_image method to put a new recovery on your phone, and it will have to be either IHO recovery, the rebuilt xionia recovery by Whyzor, or the modified IHO recovery by emuzombie.

i knew i was forgetting something thanks

 

[Dave Begue]

man you guys are awesome - thank you for helping me! Still a little fuzzy on the clockwork mod thing, I should substitute some other program instead of clockworkmod? Which one is best? Will the steps be different when not using clockworkmod? Even though I bought my V in October - I got it off amazon - so it might be older than it looks - can you tell by any of those system info things I typed in originally? Again - thank you so much - and I apologize for all the questions. Dave

 

[mknollman123]

I have been rooted since day one on my OV, but just jumped to GB a few days ago. I followed the easy instructions in the sticky and it was exactly that - easy. No need for a PC of anything - did it all from the phone. I bought my OV in July and the "old" method worked very well for me.

I was not that worried about getting GB but I have to say that using IHO backside rom I have gotten back a few of the things that I really missed from my old Fascinate (ie power controls in the notification bar and nicely builtin wifi tethering).

Definitely worth the minimal effort - I have been rooting and romming since back in the old winmo days and this was the easiest phone for me to rom so far.

 

[JerryScript]

man you guys are awesome - thank you for helping me! Still a little fuzzy on the clockwork mod thing, I should substitute some other program instead of clockworkmod? Which one is best? Will the steps be different when not using clockworkmod? Even though I bought my V in October - I got it off amazon - so it might be older than it looks - can you tell by any of those system info things I typed in originally? Again - thank you so much - and I apologize for all the questions. Dave

Go to this page and scroll a little more than half way down to Installation Prerequisites, there is a list of recoveries that will work with any Optimus V, new or old.

https://github.com/inferiorhumanorgans/android_device_lge_thunderc/wiki/Binary

 

[Dannemand]

I did this yesterday for the first time: Rooted my OV with Gingerbreak 1.2, backed up up apps with TB, saved my stock recovery with cat (terminal on the phone), downloaded Rom Manager from Market and installed ClockworkMod Recovery, made a nandroid backup in Recovery, did all the prescribed wipes/formats and flashed IHO Mirage 1022 build.

It was indeed a very painless process. And the ROM is incredible - I have yet to figure out all the functionality. Thanks a lot to everybody who posted guides and help! And huge thanks to the ROM authors (I'll be sure to post that in the IHO thread).

I have two questions:

1) I flashed gapps (0828 signed) after first booting IHO once (as recommended in the IHO thread). Indeed, that gave me the Google account wizard and Market. I was surprised to find it didn't include other Google apps, such as Gmail, Maps, Voide Search etc. If I have to download all the Google apps from Market, they'll take up quite a bit of internal storage (as they also do when I download updates). Are they simple not included in gapps.zip, or did something fail when I flashed? (I verified MD5 on gapps.zip and the ROM after copy to sdcard).

2) I had some concerns if this process would lose my call log, text messages and browser bookmarks, but then I figured maybe they'd be included in the Titanium backup -- and otherwise not a huge loss. But now I am not sure TB will let me restore them without restoring (and overwriting) the actual apps. Even if I restore data-only from Dialer, Browser etc, the raw data may not be compatible with the new version of those apps. If there there is a clean (and version independent) way to carry these data over, I can restore my stock image, back them up and flash IHO again.

Both of these are minor issues, but if someone has the answers, I would like to know.

Overall, I cannot believe how easy this process turned out to be -- although I did spend a lot of time reading up beforehand and writing down all the steps for myself, to make sure I didn't forget anything and that I had all the necessary backups. I would still recommend this caution to anyone doing their first root & ROM.

Thanks again!

 

[watskyhotsky]

I did this yesterday for the first time: Rooted my OV with Gingerbreak 1.2, backed up up apps with TB, saved my stock recovery with cat (terminal on the phone), downloaded Rom Manager from Market and installed ClockworkMod Recovery, made a nandroid backup in Recovery, did all the prescribed wipes/formats and flashed IHO Mirage 1022 build.

It was indeed a very painless process. And the ROM is incredible - I have yet to figure out all the functionality. Thanks a lot to everybody who posted guides and help! And huge thanks to the ROM authors (I'll be sure to post that in the IHO thread).

I have two questions:

1) I flashed gapps (0828 signed) after first booting IHO once (as recommended in the IHO thread). Indeed, that gave me the Google account wizard and Market. I was surprised to find it didn't include other Google apps, such as Gmail, Maps, Voide Search etc. If I have to download all the Google apps from Market, they'll take up quite a bit of internal storage (as they also do when I download updates). Are they simple not included in gapps.zip, or did something fail when I flashed? (I verified MD5 on gapps.zip and the ROM after copy to sdcard).

2) I had some concerns if this process would lose my call log, text messages and browser bookmarks, but then I figured maybe they'd be included in the Titanium backup -- and otherwise not a huge loss. But now I am not sure TB will let me restore them without restoring (and overwriting) the actual apps. Even if I restore data-only from Dialer, Browser etc, the raw data may not be compatible with the new version of those apps. If there there is a clean (and version independent) way to carry these data over, I can restore my stock image, back them up and flash IHO again.

Both of these are minor issues, but if someone has the answers, I would like to know.

Overall, I cannot believe how easy this process turned out to be -- although I did spend a lot of time reading up beforehand and writing down all the steps for myself, to make sure I didn't forget anything and that I had all the necessary backups. I would still recommend this caution to anyone doing their first root & ROM.

Thanks again!

gapps comes in "just the android market and account framework" variety, and "all google apps" variety.

I was surprised that method worked for you

when I flash a rom, and dont flash gapps, if i boot into the rom, it will not let me sign into a google account anywhere on the phone, and if I go back in recovery and flash gapps, the sign in app just force closes everytime. unless i flash both before first boot.

as for texts, I use Go SMS, which is worlds better than the stock texting app, it also can back up all texts and restore them between rom flashes. thats the most useful feature for me.

install it on the stock rom, it will import all texts from default texting app, back them up in the settings, restore them using another installation of GoSMS on the new rom, and those messages will be back in the stock texting app as well if you are so inclined to use it.

as for call log, I believe you can do the same thing with GO Dialer. but I only did that once, I usually dont mind call logs being wiped, its something i do on a nightly basis anyways, i like seeing it empty.

browser bookmarks, once again, i only did this once. I imported the default browers bookmarks into Dolphin HD (which has become my only browser in the last few months) and from there, export to SD, and re import from the SD to dolphin from inside the new rom. this doesnt put them back in the stock browser, but that browser is like Internet Explorer anyways, which means, there are better choices and if you are still using it, your out of the loop and behind the times

for me, the apps I use just require me to sign into an account, so I have absolutely no use for titanium backup, i just download all the apps from the market and sign back into my stuff and it all syncs again. and most apps that do save their own data, like a Notes app, can export to my SD card and import again from the new rom.

 

[Dannemand]

Thank you, watskyhotsky.

I found out how to restore SMS and bookmarks with TB. Call log I haven't figured yet -- and it is the least important to me.

That said, yes, cloud backup is definitely the way to go. Fortunately mail, contacts and calendar (the most important) are already there in my Google account. It looks like Gingerbread itself also backs up app settings/data in the cloud. I'll find out how/if that works when I do my first re-wipe today: mrg666 has a new ROM out, and I'll use the opportunity to start out clean.

I managed to find those other gapps versions. Thank you for clarifying that for me. I also learned how TB can turn downloaded apps into system apps and move updated apps in the ROM, so maybe that's the way to go.

Probably have to get the paid TB. It really is very powerful -- just not very intuitive, if you ask me.

Thanks again for your help - in this thread and the many others where I've seen your postings!

 

[Dave Begue]

I did this yesterday for the first time:

Overall, I cannot believe how easy this process turned out to be -- although I did spend a lot of time reading up beforehand and writing down all the steps for myself, to make sure I didn't forget anything and that I had all the necessary backups. I would still recommend this caution to anyone doing their first root & ROM.

Thanks again!

Is there anyway you would post your steps and down loads just like you did them? I have also spent a lot of time looking at posts threads and replies - and I am confused by all the options and differences of opinion in what will work and what won't work. Since you found a way that worked - could you please post it? Thanks - Dave

 

[Dannemand]

Is there anyway you would post your steps and down loads just like you did them? I have also spent a lot of time looking at posts threads and replies - and I am confused by all the options and differences of opinion in what will work and what won't work. Since you found a way that worked - could you please post it? Thanks - Dave

Dave,

I did almost exactly what redhat wrote in his post above. Only difference is I used the IHO Mirage ROM instead of the IHO pure that he described (they?re in the IHO thread). Also, I added a few extra backup steps for safety (such as saving my stock recovery) but those were not strictly necessary.

But I only did so after spending weeks reading the guides and stickies (multiple times) to make sure I understood what is involved. Although I am a tech person, I know nothing about Linux or the inner workings of Android, so I wanted to educate myself first.

To be completely honest with you, I think you have to keep studying and re-reading the guides enough times until you truly UNDERSTAND the process and can write down the steps for yourself. Just blindly following someone else?s steps without understanding them is a recipe for disaster (in my opinion). It?s like trying to perform heart transplant using another surgeons list, but without knowing the basics of surgery yourself: Not safe for the patient!

The steps are all there, both in the stickies and in what MasterTec and Redhat whote in this thread. But I don?t think you should try to crack that phone until you fully understand what those guides mean. Once you do, the steps become merely a checklist for actions you already understand.

If you DO understand it already, I apologize for insinuating otherwise. In that case I think writing down the steps for yourself may be the way to gain enough confidence to go ahead with the surgery ;-)

True, there is some conflicting information ? not much though: RevolutionRed?s old guide refers to manual rooting with ADB from the PC and Superoneclick. There's also the fastboot thing which I don't even know what is. But almost everbody now seems to recommend Gingerbreak. And that?s what I did. I had no USB connection to my PC (saved me from polluting my Win64 with drivers etc), everything was done on the phone itself.

I used the PC to download Gingerbreak 1.2 apk, the IHO ROM and gapps.zip. Using the card reader on my PC I then copied the files to the original 2GB sdcard that came with my OV (reformatted in the phone first). I verified the copies by checking MD5 checksums on the phone with ES File Explorer (downloaded from Market).

After installing Gingerbreak from the sdcard (using ES File Explorer) and enabling USB debugging, I ran Gingerbreak and let it root. It took a few mins, including a reboot. Then I installed Titanium Backup (from Market) and backed up all apps to the sdcard. I installed ROM Manager (also from Market) and let it flash clockworkMod recovery. I then re-booted into recovery, saved a backup (socalled nandroid) and flashed IHO ROM and gapps.zip ? exactly as described by redhat in his post above.

Reboot, and that?s it, really. After that it's all about learning the new ROM and setting it up. I think I have it figured out now and expect to do my first re-flash today (with mrg666?s updated Mirage ROM), starting over fresh.

One important difference for me: My OV is 2.2.1 and has the old screen. I don't know whether the ClockworkMod recovery installed by ROM Manager supports the new screen on your phone. Maybe it does, I just don't know. If NOT, you'll have to install a different Recovery to avoid black screen. There's a sticky on that, I just haven't read it.

 

[Dave Begue]

Thank you for all the advice. You are correct in that I don't understand the steps. I guess I will just keep trying to figure it all out. The feeling I get is to avoid clockworkmod, (it is a recovery right? I don't know what a "recovery" is - so I guess I have a lot more studying to do!). I do really appreciate all the advise. I guess it's like a car mechanic trying to explain to a caveman how to change his oil....

 

[azdavef]

If you tap settings, then about phone, you will see your Android Version listed. If you hae 2.2.1, you can use virtually any of the instructions and recoveries. If you have version 2.2.2 you have the newer version, but that is the version you need to be careful with. A recovery is a tool that allows you to make changes to your installed hardware. That hardware is called memory in the smartphone world, but it corresponds closely to your hard drive in a PC. The rom is very close to an OS. Dannemand is correct about trying to understand as much as you can before you do it. I'm old too, and I have been a Linux user for the past five years or so and you are lucky to have found people who answered your question that actually know what they are talking about.

 

[Dannemand]

I am sure you can do it, Dave. Just read those stickies and guides again -- and make sure you look up everything that doesn't make sense as you go along. It may take several reads (you pick up something new each time) but it'll come together after awhile. That's when you're ready!

I've found people here to be incredibly helpful, so you are in good hands.

Recovery (as already explained by azdavef) is a mini-operating system that you can boot to perform various maintenance tasks on the phone. The built-in (stock) Recovery on the OV can reset Factory Defaults, Install updates from the sdcard (should Virgin Mobile release one) and a few other things. In order to overwrite the Android 2.2 Froyo system (the stock ROM) with a 2.3 Gingerbread ROM, you need to replace the stock recovery with a customized one.

And before you can replace your recovery, you need to root the phone -- otherwise you won't have the necessary permissions.

ClockworkMod is one such custom recovery. But there are others -- some of which are compatible with the new screens, some are not. ClockworkMod is very easy to install because you simple download the ROM Manager app from Market and it replaces your recovery for you. Other custom recoveries must be downloaded and placed on your sdcard, then flashed using command lines (again, assuming you have root access).

In order to enter those commands, you either connect to the PC with USB and use a tool called ADB that allows you to enter them on the PC, OR you use Terminal Emulator (from Market) which lets you enter them directly on the phone. Again, for phones that work with ClockworkMod (old screens) you don't even have to use a command line at all.

I think this information alone should allow you to read mmarz Reference Guide again (sticky) and probably understand more than during your first read of it.

 

[Dave Begue]

Ok - spent some more time reading. Are posts from January or April still valid? I have learned to go to the last page for the most recent info.
What is flashing? Is it a command? How do I do it?
I downloaded a terminal emulator application from the google market. Will it have a virtual keyboard when I use it? Can I open that TE app now and practice using it?
Clockworkmod=bad for my phone since it's new right? Some of the optional recoveries are named "something something clockworkmod..." Should I avoid those also? Are there any instructions on how to use one of the "non clockworkmod" recoveries?
What is the deal with backup? Do I need that? Can't I just get all my apps again from market later? Or do I need to save like the system kind of stuff to re use it after I am GB?
I really like swype, messages, wifi, and camera. Is there any chance these will still work after I root, recover, flash?, and rom up like a big boy? Thanks!