Picked up an Optimus V

[Maximum Drive]

This is my first android phone. Picked up on Black Friday from Target for 50 bucks.

I'm loving it so far, but being the geek that I am, I'm thinking of rooting it and adding a custom rom. Is there anything I need to know about the process? Is there any major advantage to loading a custom rom? Is there a huge chance of bricking my phone?

And above all, does loading a custom rom help with my battery? I know the Optimus V uses more battery power than needed sometimes.

 

[jmel]

http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...guide-optimus-v-modding-read-get-started.html

 

[watskyhotsky]

custom roms are (usually) community-created versions of Android OS built specifically for the phone.

android is not a universal OS, like windows, where you can have a disc and install it on different hardware configurations.

You need to get the source, compile it with drivers and other stuff specific to a certain model.

for the Optimus V, we had some talented devs make some great roms.

if you like 2.2 Froyo, LeslieAnns "Harmonia" is awesome. better battery life than stock, reliable and stable.

if you want 2.3.7 Gingerbread, I.H.O. BACKside is a rom that is a port of the latest cyanogenmod for the Optimus V.

I've found gingerbread to be a much much better OS than Froyo, (in terms of pure usability, NOT "harmonia vs IHO") but you can choose either, or try both.

I can give you the link to where to download the IHO CM7 based roms and recovery, but the How-To root and other info can be found by you by searching this forum.

This is the IHO rom download.. uhh.. place. haha

 

[Dannemand]

custom roms are (usually) community-created versions of Android OS built specifically for the phone.

android is not a universal OS, like windows, where you can have a disc and install it on different hardware configurations.

You need to get the source, compile it with drivers and other stuff specific to a certain model.

<snip>

Great post. Just had to say that



Sent from my LG Optimus V CM7/IHO

 

[Ticojpunk]

Rooting and ROMming the Optimus V turns a good little phone into an awesome little phone. Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

Sent via VM670

 

[agamy]

I'm running Harmonia 1.7 right now and getting fantastic battery life (uptime 35 hours @ 50% battery life, using wireless and juice defender. imo.im chat client connecting/updating to three different msging services, made ~90 mins of phone calls, ~1 hour of apps/playing games, ~20 mins of streaming a Netflix episode, ~30-40 mins of web browsing.)

This froyo build (I think the other custom ROMs do as well) also has the fix for the signal drop bug that eats battery life in unrooted, native Optimus V stock --- you can see this happening if you go to Settings -> About Phone -> Battery Use -> click on Cell Standby. If Time Without Signal (or something similar) is present there at >= 50%, you're experiencing the bug.

Since it's rooted I was also able to run SetCPU to overclock the phone. There's several threads here and on XDA about it, but you actually have better battery life and lower temps if you set the minimum clock to 600 rather than the default 240. (Something about it working less hard for commonly used apps/processes).

The only caveat I have about using a custom ROM on this phone is some of the older ROMs (and recoveries) have an issue with some newer Optimus V (mine is a newer one): LG updated the screens to use Optimus S screens (thus needing a different driver than the one used by older ROMs). If you get a blank screen after initial LG logo after flashing a ROM, that's why.

You can overflash with a compatible kernel or use an updated ROM. I had to overflash pica07remix kernel even though Harmonia 1.7 supposedly included an updated version, but it was fine after that.


Just make sure you back up your rom prior to flashing a new rom


EDIT: I have nothing against Gingerbread, I just happen to be satisfied with Harmonia so see no reason to change it, for the now. I do run CM 7.2 Gingerbread (Mirage build) on my Nook Color tablet

 

[StikX420]

can anyone help me with my friends optimus V?

 

[AndyOpie150]

You will have to be a little more specific as to what ails your friends "V" in order for help to be offered. Give as many in depth details as you can. What OS version,what ROM( Stock or custom), what recovery,what all changes he has made, and last but most important: what is wrong with it.

 

[JerryScript]

This is my first android phone. Picked up on Black Friday from Target for 50 bucks.

I'm loving it so far, but being the geek that I am, I'm thinking of rooting it and adding a custom rom. Is there anything I need to know about the process? Is there any major advantage to loading a custom rom? Is there a huge chance of bricking my phone?

And above all, does loading a custom rom help with my battery? I know the Optimus V uses more battery power than needed sometimes.

Once you are rooted, download betterbatterystats from xda (google it). This is one of the best tools for determining what may be draining your battery. The three biggest battery drain issues on the OV are:

1. Poor cell signal
2. Apps syncing data in the background
3. Apps running that don't need to be

Installing Harmonia will give you the best battery life out of the supported ROMs these days, and is overall one of the best ROMs available for the OV. The IHO builds (BACKside, BobZhome, mrg666's Mirage) can be configured to get a full days battery life out of moderate usage, don't expect a full 24hrs if you are a heavy user. This is due to all the extra goodies CyanogenMod includes, which is what IHO is built off. Harmonia is built from a modified stock+super-kernel that has most of the extras removed. They are almost reverse images of each other in that respect.

The great news is, once you are comfortable with the process, you can flash any custom ROM you want to try out in about 5 minutes, 10 minutes tops if you include boot time and signing in to google accounts. Try them each out for a few days, then pick the one you like. If you are a geek, you'll be flashing at least weekly!

 

[StikX420]

It is booting to blank screens. It has clockwork recovery and is not accessible thru adb. Adb shows it to be offline

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Whyzor]

This froyo build (I think the other custom ROMs do as well) also has the fix for the signal drop bug that eats battery life in unrooted, native Optimus V stock --- you can see this happening if you go to Settings -> About Phone -> Battery Use -> click on Cell Standby. If Time Without Signal (or something similar) is present there at >= 50%, you're experiencing the bug.

This problem is just a display bug, it doesn't actually use up more battery power. Also just as a note, IHO CM7 can be just as thrifty with battery, depending on how one uses it. I've achived 11 days on one charge and it wasn't all in airplane mode (extreme example), but don't let bad battery discourage you from trying CM7.

Try this rooting & custom ROM guide:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...-how-simplified-root-recovery-custom-rom.html

Beware to NEVER use the 'factory reset' from android settings menu.

 

[agamy]

This problem is just a display bug, it doesn't actually use up more battery power. Also just as a note, IHO CM7 can be just as thrifty with battery, depending on how one uses it. I've achived 11 days on one charge and it wasn't all in airplane mode (extreme example), but don't let bad battery discourage you from trying CM7.

Really? (Re: display bug). I was getting terrible battery life with stock but I probably hadn't gotten through enough battery cycles for it to settle down prior to rooting/romming it. I *am* running Juice Defender which has made a big difference.

What pluses are there to move from Froyo to Gingerbread for this phone? (I'm genuinely curious; I run CM7.2 Mirage on my tablet and don't see enough of a difference atm to put it on my phone)

 

[mishmosh2000]

It is booting to blank screens. It has clockwork recovery and is not accessible thru adb. Adb shows it to be offline

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

It is probably a newer Optimus V. Did you flash only the CW recovery or both recovery and a ROM. If only recovery, you can still flash a compatible recovery without the black screen via the terminal.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/op...black-screen-custom-recovery-custom-roms.html

 

[Maximum Drive]

After doing some research I rooted my V and installed Harmonia. Better battery life is very attractive to me. So far it's run very smoothly. It's frozen a few times though. Nothing major though.

 

[Whyzor]

Really? (Re: display bug). I was getting terrible battery life with stock but I probably hadn't gotten through enough battery cycles for it to settle down prior to rooting/romming it. I *am* running Juice Defender which has made a big difference.

What pluses are there to move from Froyo to Gingerbread for this phone? (I'm genuinely curious; I run CM7.2 Mirage on my tablet and don't see enough of a difference atm to put it on my phone)

Harmonia strips a lot of the stock ROM's bloat, so your battery improvements most likely came from that. I like CM7.2's features because it's a Gingerbread ROM, better internal memory garbage collection, text selection, compatibility with market apps, and the notification power widget where I can toggle a lot of components on/off easily (CM7 feature).