Unlocked, non-Tmobile G1 where to go from here - G1 General

First - I've searched, searched and searched for my particular circumstances, so if this is the wrong place for my questions I apologize in advance. (I've seen all the warnings, in so many posts - honestly! It's kept me searching and not posting for weeks.)
I bought a G1 off eBay (no tmobile in my area); it wasn't unlocked so I bought an unlock code. So far, so good. But it took forever researching how to get my particular obscure carrier settings into the APN (Iowa Wireless) and I couldn't bypass and use wifi because it wouldn't reboot (no root workaround). So then, I flashed to the 29 rom. I had lots of problems with adb but finally found a Windows XP machine that it would work on and managed to get my phone working. I had to enter some command line intent commands (that I don't have here at work) but it's been a long complicated road. I'm not even sure I could duplicate any of it.
So now I have a G1 phone that can't get paid apps, which stinks (and yes, I installed the Market Enabler app). It isn't a developer phone. The details:
Firmware 1.0
Baseband version: 62.33.20.08H_1.22.12.29
Kernel: 2.6.25-01843-gfea26b0 [email protected] #6
Build Number: kila-user 1.0 TC4-RC29 115247 ota-rel-keys.release-keys
I desperately need ebook reading capability, so without paid apps I'm up a creek. The web browser won't even open local files that I can tell and when I click on an html file it opens in a viewer that never displays my files, which tend to have lots of javascript and css. And we won't even talk about chm files and pdb/prc compiled ebooks. Is there a rom that will get me access to the Market so I can buy a couple of readers?
When I got the G1, I was thinking that an HTC phone would be the successor to the hackable Motorola phones (I used to have an A780). But in a way, this forum is too much of a good thing. There are so many roms, bootloaders and some kind of radio thing that I'm kinda scared to mess with. So, that's my next question - is there some kind of table where I can see comparisons on which roms do what and what files go together? I'm piecing things from posts and I keep getting lost.
And for my next question - if I do get up enough nerve to get install a non-standard rom, will my unlock code still work if everything gets wiped?
Lastly, and I know this is sensitive because it is an Android community - I found a few tantalizing posts while researching all my issues that hinted that maybe someone might be working on a non-Android solution. I don't know if was OpenMoko or something like that but seriously, I would jump at the opportunity to have an accessible Linux system.
As awesome as the G1 is (and the bar code thing was my killer app) it's a lot of hassle for a working mother and grandmother. I have 7 and 9 year old kids to hang out with instead of muttering "Frak this" after the tenth or twentieth rewording of the google search terms.
Thanks for letting me get this out of my system. I'm reading deprived and starting to reevaluate my old Shadow sitting on the shelf.
Terry in Iowa

Being the nice guy I am, this is a database listed under the Developer's section under INFORMATIVE THREADS (lots of goodies under there): http://www.simonwalkerphotos.com/android/android_build_information.asp
it lists the features of each ROM in the forums all neatly organized. =)
For your other question: the unlock code works perfectly fine after several wipes, its permanent. I unlocked my phone (from T-Mobile) and have gone through at least 8 ROMs and the unlock still works. With these new ROMs, you get developer capabilities and should be able to download that reader you're after.
Just take your time and don't rush things and you'll be fine. A piece of cake really.

Thanks. Your link is exactly what I needed. I know I missed it, whether it's because it's 11th on the list and my eyes were so glazed over, or I was hung up on getting root (the main thread for root on that page didn't work for me - the mount commands) or that I kinda expected it to be down in the actual ROM section.
I know this isn't about the ROM list but it's so frustrating to have threads marked but not work, and the solutions are often way down in the comment thread. That makes it so hard to get anywhere. I hope I don't sound too ungrateful, especially since I wanted the G1 because of the community support. It's just been way more work than I expected from previous experiences with other phones and pdas.
Well, I looked through the spreadsheet and I think I'm going to try out CyanogenMod v3.4.6 (Stable). Now I just need to set aside some time to gather everything together. (I'm learning...)
Thanks again,
Terry

No worries, we all gotta start somewhere. Once you have root, its pretty much just a straight ROM flash from there, depending on whether the ROM you've chosen needs the new Haykuro SPL or just HardSPL. With Haykuro SPL, there's really only 2 extra steps and you can just straight flash ROMs from there. Just be careful if you're flashing the Haykuro SPL because if you do it incorrectly, you'll brick you're phone. But don't be too scared, if you did everything correctly, there shouldn't be any reason why it won't work.

I had no trouble with the HardSPL, the radio update, the pimped out recovery image but the actual CyanogenMod almost gave me a heart attack. I applied the update.zip and rebooted, and it hung on a cool animated android screen (after the G1 splash). I took the battery out, wiped the phone (which I forgot to do the first time) and tried it again. Same results. I took the battery out again and applied the update.zip and the 3rd time it actually booted.
My previously installed programs were still there, so I'm not quite sure what happened but I'm not going to question it any further. ;-)
Thanks again for the little bit of hand holding.
Terry (proud owner of 8 paid apps and still looking...)

Good luck. If you use Apps2SD, after you re-apps2sd after a flash/wipe, it will take a very long time to boot and you might think that it has frozen, but in reality, its just loading all the apps over again so it could take up to 10min. But glad you got it working regardless. Have fun.

Related

Newbie thread & GLOSSARY. REMEMBER TO USE SEARCH ^^

so you've just gotten a cheap hero on Ebay or finally got an available upgrade on your account. you've probably played around with the hero for a little while, maybe installed a few apps, learned how to use the keyboard and probably snapped a few pictures. you've put a few customizations into the phone, like your ringtone and the city where you want your weather forecast for. you've linked your facebook friends and contacts. you've found a cool new background. and after looking through the market's categories, there aren't too many super-engaging apps to try out.
you've heard about rooting your phone and want to try this out. How do you do this? well you searched the web (good job! search here too ^^ upper right corner!) or posted on yahoo! answers (come on...) and found that forum.XDA-developers.com is ground zero for all things mobile hacking. you've managed to find the cdma hero section and now here you are, confronted with a barrage of topics, mostly about things that might as well be written in martian.
Hi! welcome to the forums. feel free to introduce yourself here and ask ANY questions that you might have (AFTER SEARCH OF COURSE).
Here is a quick glossary for those who are just coming into the hacking scene
ROOT: the act of running commands with FULL administrator access and control. this means you are not held back by software controls from seriously messing things up. With that said, if you read carefully EVERY TIME before you flash updates, you should be just fine
NANDROID: a complete backup of the data on your phone, complete with contacts, messages and all installed apps.
ADB: Command-line tool used to access your phone. Need the Android SDK installed in order to use this tool
ROM: the phone's specific coding, comprised of the following: underlying operating system (framework, kernel, etc), applications for phone and messages and stuff, the bootscreen, the toolbars and launcher, and even more specific things like the font used on the phone and the icons for the apps on your screen.
RECOVERY IMAGE: used to flash updates, run nandroid backups, wipe the phone's internal memory, etc. Accessed by holding the home button (when phone is off) and then tapping the end (power) button. The stock recovery image is a triangle with and exclamation mark in it. In order to flash custom ROMs you must load a new recovery image. Most rooting guides on the forum include instructions on how to do this.
ROSIE.apk: the stock (black) toolbars and general sense UI included with the stock rom.
​
That's all for now, I'm not running on very much sleep right now so if I made any typos point em out and also come up with more glossary terms to define that you personally wondered about when you first took the plunge of rooting
again. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the new members joining us here in CDMA hero-land. we look forward to the day where you'll know enough to start to teach us things

FixMessageCount, Works but.. (and appunlock Qs)

Hey guys!! let me start off with I've read here for a good while and enjoy this forums like very few others online.
So I, too, had the crazy message bubble bug on my Tilt2. It started with one, working its way up to 4. After some time trying to fix it I found a couple days back a thread on FixMessageCount. It worked beautifully! but now I have a sort of ironic problem: I don't have any bubble to let me know how many new messages i DO have. It works with email but doesn't w/ texts (which were presenting the original problem) All i wanted was to "clean" up whatever messages I may have had, not to disable it completely.
Is there a way to enable this?
-----
Also, I stumbled across an AppUnlock earlier and was sort of intrigued but admittedly confused by what was presented. What is the actual use of this CAB? I downloaded and installed on my Tilt since I had a slight understanding of what it did. Allowing non-signed applications work, I guess. Among other things, I read the crazy phrase "ROM Dumping". Now with that I am reminded of custom roms. BUT I understand that to get custom ROMs one would have to Hard SPL, Flash, the whole process. Something that I haven't done since I've had my phone since November, and while i know the process, i have doubts, seeing the eternal misfortune that haunts me daily.
I get the signature bypass aspect of it, but could someone actually clarify the ROM part. I have searched both in xda and the internet as a whole for a thorough explanation. Any help is appreciated.
Have a great Day/Night, keep up the downright amazing work you do daily!

[Q] On The Downloading Of .swf and .flv Files

I have recently bought a Samsung Vibrant (T959) and being new to the Android universe I have been doing quite a bit of head scratching. Before you jump to the conclusion that I am one of those that just refuses to do research when faced with a problem (and resort to spamming help forums with threads like: “how do I make a call?” or “I know my phone is ON but why is my screen BLACK!?!?!?!?!?”) or that I am simply a dumbass, let me say that I since flashed to Trigger ROM 3.2 on the suggestion of (and with help from) the all around awesome fellow s15274n, and am learning more about the Android system every day. I believe that most of you will be familiar with the saying, "you can't go swimming without getting wet," (or similar paraphrasing), but it seems to me that in the realm of Android moding the saying goes a bit different, "you can't get wet without jumping in the deep end."
Now that I have "jumped in the deep end" at the nudging of s15274n I have a much better understanding of flashing, ClockworkMod Recovery, ROM Manager and more, however in the case of downloading flv and swf file I have run into so many dead ends that I am starting to wonder if I really am just a dumbass. I have searched Google and xda without much success, some people mention Download Crutch (the last posts on this were dated late 2008) and some replied that the abilities of the aforementioned program are available in Linda and Astro, but after downloading I can't figure out how to make them actually "download" anything. I know there is a way to download stuff from YouTube, but I don't really surf YouTube that much. On my PC I use Orbit Downloader for ALL my downloading needs (if you don't have it, GET IT!), but I can't find something similar for Android.
Before I close I’ll fill you in on my situation. I have a Samsung Vibrant (3G). I am running Trigger 3.2 and have Flash 10.3 and a number of Flash “Players.” I am on the $30 a month T-Mobile plan which only gives me only 30MB per month, I can get a “unlimited day pass” for $1.50, but after the first 30MB the data rate slow so that video streaming is impractical to say the least. I would like to be able to download a movie or tv show (or mayhap something even less PG…or even R) using wifi to view later.
I suspect that there is a way to do so and that I am just missing something very fundamental as there are almost no recent threads on this and some people seem to imply that they are doing it, they just don’t say how.
I know that this is probably just a wee bit long for such a noobishly simple question, but hours of frustration have left me with some issues to work out. While I am on the subject, has anyone been able to watch megavideo without being redirected to that STUPID F%^&ING game website?
In closing, I find Flash withdrawal to be quite drag and I would be eternally grateful help getting my fix.
Robert
P.S. I think I may have posted this in the wrong forum, oops...

[Q] Need minimal ROM for ATM like project

I need some info on getting a project going. I have been tasked to create an ATM type of application for the A500. It needs a minimal OS with only my program running, which uses a USB card reader and WiFi. The power is always connected and it is securely mounted. It's not, but think ATM.
I have read there are minimal OS source builds that we can get for this purpose. I haven't found where to get them, or what to Google for. Searching has found ROM's for other devices people have created. I have basically finished the program and now just need to get the system ready for install without a user being able to press the Home button or back button to get out of the program.
I'm too new to post in the dev forum, but I'm not a novice programmer. Ive done embedded dev, just not on android.
thanks
You could also PM some of the devs, they might be able to help you...
PMs
I hadn't thought of that, but I am too new on here to know who would be good to PM. Besides, I didn't want to bother busy people. But I'll continue to read up on the posts and see who seems to know what they are talking about.
Most decent Rom "modders" can strip most stuff out of the system. Heck, you can do it yourself with a little trial and error and a lot of time and patience.
Example, my newest mod in beta, has 2 services running at boot. Google services, and Keyboard. That's about as bare bones as one can get, and still maintain functionality and be called a tablet. Note that most apps, will have to be downloaded.
Anything past that, and you would need something like an old ASOP rom.

For Those That Have Not Unlocked Their Bootloaders (XT926)...

...wouldn't this be an option (people more in the know, please correct me if I am wrong):
- Use one of the utilities to revert your system back down to ICS (4.0.4)
- Unlock the bootloader / root / do whatever you want to do that you can't when on the latest software...
- Re-take all of the updates to get you back up to 4.1.2 (or use the utility to get back to 4.1.2)
Easy-peasy, pending the updates that block the unlock exploit are reverted as well when the software is reverted.
I do understand that one would lose all their precious info (contacts, pics, vids, apps, etc.), but making a hard copy list of that stuff (or a backup of some sort - Backup Assistant Plus, DropBox, and Titanium Backup to Cloud storage come to mind) may be worth it to get the bootloader unlocked. To save pics, vids, etc. one could also just drop all of that stuff on to their computer before reverting as well.
Just thinking of a way to help those that cannot unlock but want to... maybe it'll help rid the forum of the "new unlock method needed please" threads as well
From what i've gathered, downgrading the phone from current firmware will not undo their patch that blocks unlocking/rooting.
LifeAsADroid said:
...wouldn't this be an option (people more in the know, please correct me if I am wrong):
- Use one of the utilities to revert your system back down to ICS (4.0.4)
- Unlock the bootloader / root / do whatever you want to do that you can't when on the latest software...
- Re-take all of the updates to get you back up to 4.1.2 (or use the utility to get back to 4.1.2)
Easy-peasy, pending the updates that block the unlock exploit are reverted as well when the software is reverted.
I do understand that one would lose all their precious info (contacts, pics, vids, apps, etc.), but making a hard copy list of that stuff (or a backup of some sort - Backup Assistant Plus, DropBox, and Titanium Backup to Cloud storage come to mind) may be worth it to get the bootloader unlocked. To save pics, vids, etc. one could also just drop all of that stuff on to their computer before reverting as well.
Just thinking of a way to help those that cannot unlock but want to... maybe it'll help rid the forum of the "new unlock method needed please" threads as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
along with the many "new unlock method needed please" post, there are many post just like yours, to which in every case we "in the know" state "cant be done/will not work"
as previously stated, the files that need to be modified to unlock can not be reverted.
Yeah, like Bwen said, it's not going to happen. The ability to downgrade was locked up on the update that also patched the unlock. Many have tried, many have failed, and a few have bricked.
1) I apologize if it came off as offensive about the stopping all the "new unlock method needed please" posts. It wasn't meant to be. Was simply thinking that new posts like that wouldn't develop, and the older ones would naturally die off, thus letting us all happily and jointly move on to newer topics or issues and solve them when they arrive. I have seen lotsa posts from people needing a new method to unlock, I haven't seen any along the thought process of trying the method I (apparently unoriginally) suggested.
2) Of course I did not expect this to be a new idea, but hadn't seen it posted so I thought I'd give it a whirl and perhaps help others out if it hadn't been thought of... A shot in the dark of an idea.
3) To receiving the knowledge that it cannot be done this way - ah nuts. Oh well, tried to help.
4) I'm glad I went and did the unlock when I did, prior to the corrective action taken by Motorola.
5) Anyone know what caused Motorola to make the fix? Since the XT925 is able to be unlocked, I'm thinking they don't personally care whether people unlock or not... I'm guessing that VeeZeeDub may have forced their hand to make the correction since VeeZeeDub doesn't want the phones unlocked? (disclaimer: I apologize up front if this is not a new topic)
I would blame it on VZW, more than anything else. Moto is somewhat trying to push towards being more dev friendly, but VZW is far from it.
I agree that it must be Verizon. Sorry for the duplicated thanks in the post above.
Sent from my RAZR Maxx HD
Jhall8 said:
I agree that it must be Verizon. Sorry for the duplicated thanks in the post above.
Sent from my RAZR Maxx HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries man. I know I can be abrasive and it only gets amplified through the internet, and I apologize if my post came off that way.
LifeAsADroid said:
1) I apologize if it came off as offensive about the stopping all the "new unlock method needed please" posts. It wasn't meant to be. Was simply thinking that new posts like that wouldn't develop, and the older ones would naturally die off, thus letting us all happily and jointly move on to newer topics or issues and solve them when they arrive. I have seen lotsa posts from people needing a new method to unlock, I haven't seen any along the thought process of trying the method I (apparently unoriginally) suggested.
2) Of course I did not expect this to be a new idea, but hadn't seen it posted so I thought I'd give it a whirl and perhaps help others out if it hadn't been thought of... A shot in the dark of an idea.
3) To receiving the knowledge that it cannot be done this way - ah nuts. Oh well, tried to help.
4) I'm glad I went and did the unlock when I did, prior to the corrective action taken by Motorola.
5) Anyone know what caused Motorola to make the fix? Since the XT925 is able to be unlocked, I'm thinking they don't personally care whether people unlock or not... I'm guessing that VeeZeeDub may have forced their hand to make the correction since VeeZeeDub doesn't want the phones unlocked? (disclaimer: I apologize up front if this is not a new topic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it really doesn't matter that this was posted again, you could post it 10 more times and i guarantee within a couple days someone will ask again.
the problem is, there is an ever increasing group of people who want answers spoon fed to them because they are too lazy to read for 5 minutes to find it them self. that may sound harsh, but if you have been around the forums for at least a few years helping people its easy to see it progressing.
i have provided help on various forums through the past few years and the majority of the time when i dont have an answer, i throw some key words into a search engine and come up with the answer within minutes.
its not that im much more knowledgeable than most, its that i would rather read a few minutes and learn how to do something rather than have someone feed it to me. thats why you very rarely see me ask any questions or ask for help. 99% of the answers are out there some where, all you have to do is look...
:semi rant concluded: just my opinion, take it as you will...
I know that we can't load prior software as it won't over write the exploit fix but, here's what I don't understand. When a phone gets sent back for repair, I would think there's a way that they wipe the phone out completely removing any trace of it's previous owner. Including the traces of a new update, boot loader...etc. Then install a completely fresh copy.
Why can't that technique been done to reinstall the previous software that allows boot loader unlocking? Wouldn't a cell phone repair shop have this capability? If you put a new board in the phone, can it be flashed with any software?
Or even in the refurbish process, not everything gets wiped?
bear263 said:
I know that we can't load prior software as it won't over write the exploit fix but, here's what I don't understand. When a phone gets sent back for repair, I would think there's a way that they wipe the phone out completely removing any trace of it's previous owner. Including the traces of a new update, boot loader...etc. Then install a completely fresh copy.
Why can't that technique been done to reinstall the previous software that allows boot loader unlocking? Wouldn't a cell phone repair shop have this capability? If you put a new board in the phone, can it be flashed with any software?
Or even in the refurbish process, not everything gets wiped?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure moto or verizon can do it, but they have access to the software that contains the encrypted key that is necessary.
But, in any event, they probably would just update it to the latest software if that hasn't happened already.
I got lucky. When I had to replace my RAZR MAXX, they "upgraded" me (for free) to a RAZR MAXX HD. I was lucky enough to have it come in with the 9.16 version, which meant I was able to unlock it, which I did immediately.
The main thing to understand is, if you don't unlock at the 9.14/9.16 version BEFORE applying any other updates, there is NO way to unlock the bootloader. It was an exploit that wasn't meant to be there. Said exploit has now been patched, and if you didn't take advantage of it when it was there, then you have no one to blame, not even Verizon or Moto since it was a security issue that they didn't know existed.

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