Radios & Kernels

[F350-6]

Another stupid question. How do I flash each of them? What exactly is a kernel and do I need a new one? I recently flashed NuSense and notice it has a kernel to download in the thread. I'm just not sure what to do with it. Do I simply go into recovery and select it to run?

From what I can tell, I need to go into Hboot (power plus volume down key held at start up) after copying the new radio onto the SD card and re-naming it PG05IMG.zip

Is that right, or am I missing something? How do I back up my old radio? I've got .19 radios currently. Would it be easier to just download and keep a copy of the .19 radio if I need to switch back? (got a link?) How do I know if I need to switch to the new radio or know if the new radio is performing any better or worse?

Thanks for any help.

Edit: And I read one post that said make sure you have at least 40% battery before flashing a radio. How long does it take to flash a radio?

 

[mightyfacundo]

NuSense has a new kernel to flash? Very cool.

Jerry can do a much better job of explaining what a kernel is and how it works than I can, so here you go: Android A to Z: What is a kernel? | Android Central

To flash a new kernel, this is the way that I do it:

Download the kernel and put it on the root of your sd. You can put it anywhere on your sd, but I like to put it on the root so it's easy to find. Boot into recovery and wipe cache and dalvik cache. Still in recovery, select install zip from sd, choose zip, and then scroll down to click on the kernel zip file. Click yes to confirm. Wait for it to do its thing and then reboot.

Radios are flashed through hboot, so rename it PG05IMG (no .zip) on your pc and place the zip on the root of your sd. If it's not on the root of your sd, the Bolt won't recognize it when you go into hboot. Boot into hboot like you said and hit the up volume button to accept the update. Reboot when finished. Easy to do, but keep in mind that not all kernels work with every ROM, so make sure the kernel you want to try has already been proven to work with the ROM you're using. And make a backup before you flash the kernel.

I keep a copy of all radios on my pc, so that I can flash back and forth to see which one works best with the ROM I'm using. I can't tell you which radios work best with each ROM because some people will have a different experience with one radio than you or I might with the same radio.

It takes about 2-3 minutes to flash a radio. 40% has been suggested because you don't want anything to happen while flashing a new radio. If something were to happen, it could be fixed with an sd adaptor, but it's still a pain to deal with, so I think 40% is good advice.