Ready to Flash - Some final Help Please.

[luigidk]

OK - I'm doing my research on how to flash a new ROM. But I have a couple questions:

- Am planning on following ow these instructions here:
HOW TO FLASH How to flash Calkulin's E4GT Rom on the Epic 4G Touch (How to flash Calkulin's E4GT Rom on the Epic 4G Touch - YouTube)
(I would probably use current version V2 at this time)

?? Do I need to ROOT my device first ??

If so - do I follow the instructions here:

How to root and clockworkmod the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch - latest (How to root and clockworkmod the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch - latest - YouTube) (uses ODIN and Lostkernel)

Or should I just root using this method: New root method- [ROOT][EG30] Automated root (http://forums.androidcentral.com/ep...new-root-method-root-eg30-automated-root.html)

Also - some conflicting information as to whether I need to run the format prior to flashing the ROM?


So the main question is do I need to root first, and if so - then which is the best method (will automated root work?)

Once rooted then it seems as simple as copying the zipped ROM onto SD storage - running CWM and selecting that ROM? Is there any updates or changes needed to run CWM?

THanks much

 

[DataHawg]

Before rooting its always wise to backup your SD card on your computer. Yes you need to root first to flash a new Rom. I used sfhub's Auto Root method. It's very easy to use. You can unroot and go back to out of the box stock if you ever need to by running the same program again on your PC. I wasn't familiar with Odin so I went this route. I like the stock ROM so I'm still using it.
After rooting, boot the phone into recovery and do a Nandroid backup of your stock freshly rooted Rom before you do anything else. From power off mode, hold volume up, home, and power all at the same time until the recovery screen appears, then release all buttons.
On this phone, when you're in recovery mode use the volume rocker to navigate up and down, home to execute a command, and power to go back to a previous screen.
Keep an extra copy of the backup on your pc or a flash drive so you always have it and label it well so you know it's your stock Rom. (When you have a bunch of Nandroids, it's easy to mix them up) You can also install ROM Manager from the Market if you want and boot into recovery from the app, but you also need to learn to do it with the buttons in case you brick your phone and can't get to Rom Manager.
Now you can start flashing Roms with the security of knowing you have a Nandroid backup of your stock rooted Rom on your SD card. You can restore back to it anytime you have a problem. Did I mention save the original Nandroid somewhere besides your phone?
One mistake I made at first was I didn't know I needed to reboot recovery after resetting and wiping. Instead I navigated back to the CWM home screen and flashed my new Rom. It didn't work properly that way.
You are correct that to install a new Rom you flash the zip file in recovery from the root of your SD card. (Don't put it in a folder) Installing a zip file is one of the options in the main recovery screen. There are other zip files besides Roms that can be flashed in recovery as well. Google Apps (GAPPS) is an example.
If you've taken the time to flash a new Rom, re-install all of your apps, and have everything working smoothly, it's a good time to do a Nandroid backup of your new Rom. Then if you have any problems with it you can restore and won't have to start all over again.
I have experience in modding my phones but still consider myself a noob. It was basic instructions like these that inspired me to take the plunge. You probably know much of this info but for those who don't I hope it helps.

 

[luigidk]

Great info - thanks. I am almost done flashing the Caulkulin V2.01 ROM!!!

Here is what I did:
- downloaded and installed the Samsung Drivers to my XP computer
- Purchased and downloaded Titanium Pro
- Ran Titanium Backup - but couldn't as I wasn't rooted
- rooted using the new root method (very easy)
- Did a Nandroid backup using CWM
- Backed up all apps and data using Titanium PRO (batch - only way to go)
- Copied the Nandroid and Titanium files from my E4GT to my PC
- Downloaded Caulkulin's V2.01 ROM - copied to my External_SD card on my E4GT (note, can find these downloads on XDA http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1284) - XDA Developers is a GREAT resource
- Downloaded Caulkulin's format .zip file and copied to my External_SD card on my E4GT
- NOTE: if you are using a 3rd party launcher - you should uninstall it and revert to stock launcher now (you can reinstall and restore it later)
- Used CWM to run the format
- Used CWM to install the ROM
- Note: Did not have to copy backup files back to E4GT as they were still there
- Downloaded Titanium PRO
- Restored using Titanium PRO (batch - all apps and data) (NOTE: do NOT restore your 3rd party launcher, make sure to deselect it)
- If after rebooting you want your 3rd party launcher... I re-installed it from the app store - and THEN went into Titanium Pro and RESTORED just the launcher and data at this point...

 

[JayWill]

Sounds like you did your homework and thus had a successful root and ROM install experience. Congrats! Now begins the addiction of wanting to try something new every other day and tinker with something that is already running perfectly. Ahhh the evils of a rooted phone!

 

[jfrancisny]

Luigi. You've just done exactly what I want to do, but have been reluctant to try (other than I'm already rooted).

A couple of questions if you don't mind. How did you backup/restore the paid key for Titanium Backup Pro? I assume you rooted using choice C. - EG30+CWM5? Were you still on Gingerbread 2.3.4 or were you already on 2.3.6 (if you were already updated, can I go from my stock eg30 to Calkulins ROM which is based on EK02?) After you run the format do you restart back into recovery before you install the ROM? Did you update your modem? How did it all seem to come out? Is your Voice Command or Voice Talk working?

Thanks for your help.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[luigidk]

Honestly I don't know if I was on 2.3.4 or 2.3.6. I did not check prior to doing this.
When I rooted - I choose eg31+CWM5 - so that is where I started.

My understanding is you can go from anything to EK02 - you're basically wiping your device clean with the format anyway.

All I did is exactly what I stated earler, just went into CWM and selected the Format ZIP - then the went right back and selected the ROM ZIp (in my case Calkulin's V2.01), did not restart inbetween.

I did not update my modem.

THe good news was my backup files from Titanium Pro were not erased by the format (assuming the sdcard is left alone!). I did have to go back into the App Market and re-download Titanium PRO - the market keeps track that you had already purchased it (as long as you use the same credentials when setting up your phone each time)

Some minor suprises... I did have to go back and re-enter all my account information - none of that was restored by Titanium PRO... (unless I missed something). And there were several setups I had to redo that were also not restored.. pretty minor stuff but a little disappointing that the backup/restore wasn't 100% seamless.

I would say that I can't imagine doing this without the PRO version.... doing the batch processing saved a lot of headaches.

As far as the ROM itself... so far so good. What I was really after was free tethering - though I'm still a little confused as to whether I can now use the Sprint HotSpot app since the ROM includes the hack... I need to check into that some more.

I use the SwiftKey keyboard - so had to set that up again as default.... and I like Go Launcher EX much better than LauncherPro - so I had to set it up as my default launcher also.

I'm hoping to get improved battery life as I travel quite a bit so that is one of the reasons I went with the Caulkulin V2.01 ROM... we'll see how performance does as it clocks down to save on battery life.

All in all I'd say I like the experience on this ROM quite a bit!

Unrelated to the ROM - I dumped Go SMS and Dolphin and K-9. I'm prefering the native apps over these... but I'll keep playing around with them. I do find the gmail app is not all that great... but I came from WebOS whose email client is SO much better than anything I've seen in Android.

Hope any of this helps - I ended up spending quite a bit of time trying to determine what I needed to do - doesn't seem to be all in one place and you can go crazy following all the different threads!

 

[luigidk]

I did just check the XDA forums and see that voice command is not working in V2.01. It is working in V2.00... I'll give it a few days and see when that is fixed or go back to V2.00

Still trying to determine if the Sprint Mobile HotSpot hack allows me to use HotSpot or if I have to use WiFi Tether... I have both apps now... Does anyone know?

 

[JayWill]

Calk will probably fix voice talk/command really quickly. He's like that with bugs.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[DataHawg]

Nice work. I agree with Jay. You definitely did your homework before attempting this. I rooted my phone before EG31 was available in sfhub's software so I still have EG30, but I'm pretty sure EG31 is the newer modem. I don't have the Hot Spot hack on my stock Rom but if yours now works you should be good to go. Reconfiguring your apps manually the way you did is really the best way to go. Titanium Backup Pro is great, but restoring all your app data with it can cause problems with app FCs. It takes longer but it's worth the time IMO.

 

[luigidk]

For the Hot Spot Hack - when I was looking at the XDA forums on it - originally it was mentioned that the app was renamed. However, with the hack part of the ROM - the Sprint Mobile HotSpot app remains the same and there is also a new app - WiFi Tether.

Can I now use Sprint Hot Spot app w/o incurring charges from Sprint?

What is the difference between Sprint HotSpot and Wifi Tether?

Also - any thoughts on which ROM to use - the ROM or BASE ROM ??
I did not use the BASE ROM version - but am thinking I may go that way when I re-flash after the voice commands are fixed.

I'm assuming the difference is some more bloatware is removed - do we know what? (would love to get rid of media center, etc...)

When I re-flash - am I correct to assume I do NOT need to reformat? If so, is there any additional step needed or can I just re-flash?

 

[JayWill]

For the Hot Spot Hack - when I was looking at the XDA forums on it - originally it was mentioned that the app was renamed. However, with the hack part of the ROM - the Sprint Mobile HotSpot app remains the same and there is also a new app - WiFi Tether.

Can I now use Sprint Hot Spot app w/o incurring charges from Sprint?

What is the difference between Sprint HotSpot and Wifi Tether?

The hack to the Sprint hotspot app bypasses the authorization process, which is a check to see if you have the hotspot service. So with the hack, you can enable it and use it immediately. Calkulin also included the WiFi Tether app in his ROM, which you can download for free anyways. The basic difference is this ... the Sprint Hotspot is infrastructure while WiFi tether is ad hoc. Google the two if you're not familiar with the difference, but generally, infrastructure is preferred by most.

Sprint can probably tell you're tethering if they really wanted to look, but I don't think they do. You should be safe from inquiries using either tether method.

Also - any thoughts on which ROM to use - the ROM or BASE ROM ??
I did not use the BASE ROM version - but am thinking I may go that way when I re-flash after the voice commands are fixed.

I think you meant BARE rather than BASE. If so, yes, the BARE version has more bloatware removed which is the only difference. I run the full version, as this phone has plenty of space and I like to manually remove apps myself where I can rather than push apps I want over. It's kind of a personal thing though.

When I re-flash - am I correct to assume I do NOT need to reformat? If so, is there any additional step needed or can I just re-flash?

Well it depends on what your doing. Going from FULL to BARE might require a data wipe, as well as the other way around. Not always though. Here's some things I found with Calk's ROM updates and no data wipes ...

His ROM has a boot issue when a launcher is not set as a default, so you always wanty to make sure you have a launcher set as default before a reboot. I've also found that it's best to have TouchWiz (Twlauncher) set as the launcher default when you update his ROM (when not wiping data and /system). So if you use a alternate launcher, make sure you clear the default and set Twlauncher as the default before an update.

Other than that, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cache from recovery, then install the ROM and reboot. If the update had a problem, you will notice it when the phone hits the lockscreen. The capacitive buttons at the bottom will stay lit, and your phone will cycle in a bootloop as you see your signal connections cycle and back and forth through the lockscreen. The only way to get out of this loop is to pull the battery.

It's a bit hit or miss on full data and /system wipes. I was able to go from 2.0 to 2.0.1 without a data wipe ... others could not. I don't know what the difference is.

 

[luigidk]

Well - I'm getting good at this... switched to BlazerROM based on the voice command issues with Caulkin's ROM... also - wanted to try a different ROM now that I'm capable of easily switching. I have learned not to restore Go Launcher - but to reinstall later.

Now - one embarrassing issue. During all my research I found a thread in XDA - that talked about fixing the GPS - had a zip file - GPSFIX.ZIP that would solve some of the GPS issues I've had (poor signals).

So I copied it to my E4GT and flashed it...

Turns out it was not for my E4GT - but some other device all together... :-[

So I think I've trashed my GPS device...

I was hoping going to the BlazerROM would help... didn't... also have been running GPS FIX application and GPS Test application - to no avail.

So have I trashed it? Any chance I can fix this???

Geez... just when I thought I knew what I was doing.

 

[aquaholik]

Well - I'm getting good at this... switched to BlazerROM based on the voice command issues with Caulkin's ROM... also - wanted to try a different ROM now that I'm capable of easily switching. I have learned not to restore Go Launcher - but to reinstall later.

Now - one embarrassing issue. During all my research I found a thread in XDA - that talked about fixing the GPS - had a zip file - GPSFIX.ZIP that would solve some of the GPS issues I've had (poor signals).

So I copied it to my E4GT and flashed it...

Turns out it was not for my E4GT - but some other device all together... :-[

So I think I've trashed my GPS device...

I was hoping going to the BlazerROM would help... didn't... also have been running GPS FIX application and GPS Test application - to no avail.

So have I trashed it? Any chance I can fix this???

Geez... just when I thought I knew what I was doing.

I wish I know the answer to that one. I spent 10-12 hours researching and trying to understand rooting and roms before I rooted and installed Calk 2.0. No issue and my voice command works fine. I have no GPS issue and I renamed launcherpro so I only have one launcher which is twlauncher. I manually reinstalled some stuff and use appextractor for the important stuff. I wasn't sure that reinstalling apps from an old rom to a different rom was a good idea so I was cautious. I did batch install of 23 apps after I was comfortable. It was nice to restore bluetooth and wifi setting without having to enter all that stuff again. Ditto with facebook, pandora, and skype. I did have to do speed dial setting again.

I don't know if I want to go and flash and test a couple of different roms. For me, this Calk 2.0 ROM and rooting fixed my broken default launcher problems and now that I have the home screen just the way I want, I don't want to go test another rom and redo all that again. I did save the first nandroid rooted stock backup and added a text file to remind me of what that rom is so in case I need to restore to stock and unroot.

I was unsure about the Sprint Hotspot too and Wifi Tether works fine for my laptop but not for my Touchpad running Android. Some time it works, some time it doesn't. Wifi Tether works in 4G and Sprint 3G is pretty poor most of the time so I will likely use Wifi Tether more even though it is ad hoc only.

 

[JayWill]

Oh I forgot about the hotspot hack being 3G only. I don't have 4G where I live so I often dismiss it.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[luigidk]

Fully understand that once you get setup on a new ROM - don't want to redo it. There is a pain factor in that - replacing widgets, etc..

I'm now up on BlazerROM and all is good - I learned to remove Go LauncherEX before I flash - then re-install later. THEN - I go in and do a restore on the Go LauncherEX I had saved before uninstalling. That worked great. Getting better at restoring system data with Titanic Pro also - and the amount of work to get back to where I want to be was much less the 2nd time around.

My GPS seems to be running now - I took out the battery and just let things settle for a while... no idea if that helped but I am getting some signals now - though it seems quite a bit weaker than it was.

WOndering if I go to my Nandroid backup and restore that - then redo the entire process agin - if that will get my GPS back to where it was?

I'll wait for Caulkulins V2.1 fix before reflashing - though I'm pretty happy with BlazerROM - and may actually like the look and feel of it a little better than Caulkilin's.

What is the wifi tether app I should use - I can only find open garden as a free one in the app store???

 

[JayWill]

What is the wifi tether app I should use - I can only find open garden as a free one in the app store???

Here you go ...

android-wifi-tether - Wireless Tether for Root Users - Google Project Hosting

Navigate to this URL from your phone, click the Downloads link, pick a version, download it and open it when it's done. It'll install the .apk right there.

 

[luigidk]

Got it - thanks