Thread updated 17/01/2011 (d/m/y) to include FlyKernel 12a and a download for AngryBirds 1.3.5 for those who needed it. thread has also been cleaned up and old content removed. Instructions have been updated accordingly. Please let me know of any bugs or tweaks that need to be made.
Install for fully working Android Gingerbread Keyboard and newest Market at the bottom of this post!
This is a collection of packages that can be found around these forums that I believe amounts to the perfect Hero Setup. I am NOT a developer (although I have been known to make some themes and do some graphics work in the past), and I do not claim to have created any of this content. Instead what I am bringing you is a kind of gathering of the choicest picks from the Hero development forums, as well as the CyanogenMod 6.1 Final base. Most of this post is entirely optional, so this will allow you to build your own device, based on your preferences. Leave out things you feel you do not want, or add in extra steps if you feel you need them. Either way this will allow granular control of your Hero, for you to set it up just the way you want.
If nothing else this should be treated as a learning experience, if however you are unsure, and the post below looks a little daunting, you should consider flashing Floyo (created by the very talented erasmux) which is a complete packaged ROM. A lot of the content here has been taken from offerings that he has made available.
I take no responsibility for you destroying your phone. But for ME, my Hero is now the fastest it has ever been, with much better signal (and hugely faster browsing speed) with a theme I really love. So, presuming your Hero is already rooted, do a FULL wipe of everything, and then:
1) Flash Cyanogen Mod 6.1 FINAL in recovery (no need to reboot yet).
2) Flash Cyanogen Google Apps Addon.
3) Reboot your phone, log in and go through the initial setup. Once this is completed, reboot into recovery again.
4) (UPDATED) Flash Flykernel 12a (HUGE thanks to erasmux, this kernel is amazing). The version linked here is the one I have found to work best with this particular Hero setup (352-576, as such this is not overclocked, but performs exceptionally on my hero and doesn't have the annoying wake up issue, info on how to rename the file to overclock the kernel can be found at the erasmux flykernal post if you wish to do so). NOTE: Do NOT use the "-noatime" switch as this caused reboot loops for me in CM6.1.
5) Flash this notifications fix (provided by erasmux) which should fix some slightly hinky notification issues (jogball etc). This should now not be required with the newest Cyanogen build, I will do more testing and completely remove this section if this is confirmed.
6) Boot phone and let it get to the homescreen.
7) Reboot into recovery for the final time.
8) Flash The Latest Radio from this thread.
9) Reboot the phone (this may take a while after the radio installation).
OPTIONAL SETTINGS!
10) If you like using the HTC_IME mod, you can install it by manually installing the Clicker and then THIS version of the HTC_IME mod created using the AMAZING theming tool provided by gIMpSTa. I have created a theme that suits the feel of this CM6.1 based ROM using his tool, and it is working perfectly on my phone.
11) Enable JIT by going in to Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > Performance Settings > TICK "Use JIT" - And then reboot your phone (You can turn this off if you have issues with it turned on). In the latest Cyanogen 6.1 FINAL JIT is working perfectly, so unlike with RC1, I would now recommend having this turned ON!.
12) If you have issues fixing GPS sats, or if GPS does not update correctly when using it to navigate etc then you can try flashing THIS FIX (GPS libraries taken from FroydVillain and provided by erasmux as a fix for his Floyo ROM). If you are having issues actually fixing satellites you can also try flashing either the Europe, US or Asia sat-packs which can help GPS lock speed in your continent (if everything is already fine, you might want to avoid flashing these). Personally, I DO NOT use GPS on my device, so I can't comment on how well any of this works, but erasmux really knows his stuff, so I'm sure it will work if you are having problems.
13) CM6.1 comes with the NEW (official) Apps2SD built-in. However, the app needs to support this method or it will not allow you to move the app to the SD card. For those of you that prefer to use the OLD STYLE Apps2SD you can download it and flash it separately to enable this feature on this build of CyanogenMod.
That's the main setup sorted. You MAY have an issue with the Market following the radio installation (I did). If this happens, follow the instructions in this thread, the first fix (clearing the data) worked for me.
OK! Now on to apps. There are a few apps that really are a must if you want your Hero to both look and feel smooth as silk. So head over to the market, and download the following:
1) LanucherPro (Cyanogen comes with ADW, but I MUCH prefer LauncherPro). I use the XTG mod created by signals23 which has much more attractive widgets (if you have purchased the LP-Plus edition (I strongly recommend you do). You can, of course, use ANY homescreen, but LP is definitely my choice for beauty and speed. I actually DELETED ADW using: adb shell - rm /system/app/ADWLauncher.apk once I had LauncherPro installed, so it was no longer on the phone at all.
2) Beautiful Widgets - You have to pay for this, but trust me, it is absolutely worth the small amount of money. Once you have it, you can install any clock theme you like, such as SwirlClock made by yours truly
3) SMS Popup. Seriously, this app is amazing. Go into the default messages app, and turn off notifications. then head into the SMS Popup settings, and go into additional settings, turn ON "Quick Reply" and turn OFF "Screen on for Popup".
3) Youlu Address Book. I no longer recommend DialerOne on the Hero, as I find it too slow, especially when using the T9 "Dialer Search" function to call contacts using the numeric keypad. I find Youlou to be much faster, with a nice interface with an easy to navigate tabbed UI.
4) Advanced Task Killer. Once installed, open it up, turn off the notification bar icon in settings, and add your most frequently used apps to the ignore list (so the killer always leaves them running for speedy access). I usually leave: Messaging, Email and DialerOne in the ignore list.
5) SyncMyPix. Lets you properly sync your facebook contacts pictures so that they show up in DialerOne and LauncherPro.
6) Facebook app, or, whatever
7) Photoshop Express. I only add this here because there is no way of uploading multiple images to Facebook using the standard "Gallery" app, but you can do this using Photoshop Express, pretty nice little app, but this feature makes it worth having.
8) THEME! If you want to change the stock theme from white to black, go to: Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > User Interface > Tweaks Extras > Select a Theme and change your theme to STOCK_Black and then reboot your phone. This makes all of the theme a very nice gloss black effect WITHOUT having to flash a seperate theme ROM over Cyanogen (which is a much better way of doing things, as you are not replacing the newer .apk's with older, themed ones... Yes, I know the browser icon kinda sucks, but you can always download the nicer icon .png from here
9) Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Keyboard. If you want to install this keyboard, it will overwrite the existing Android 2.2.1 Keyboard (and currently there is no way of going back). The Gingerbread keyboard is FULLY FUNCTIONAL, this version now has working dictionary and autocorrect. You CAN still use the HTC_IME keyboard with this installed though, so if you hardly use the stock Android keyboard anyway, there shouldn't be much harm installing it and giving it a shot. HERE it is for those of you that just can't wait
10) The newest Android 2.2.6 Market. Flash in recovery, tested working great on my Hero, very lovely interface and nice and fast
11) (NEW) Angry Birds 1.3.5. for those of you who were wondering how I got angry Birds to run pretty well on the Hero, use this version rather than the latest one available on the market
DONE. Of course, you can modify this in any way you like, but after completing all of this you will have your own, pieced together ROM, without any strange extras or crap you don't really need. On top of this, you can head in to the ROM manager that comes with Cyanogen and install ClockworkMod recovery (if you are still using an older Amon-Ra or something), which is nice and easy.
Also, I'm not joking. It's fast... The screenshot below is with common apps (messages, emails, dialerone) running, and I still have 86mb of free memory. The battery life is fantastic, signal is great, call speed, wifi locking etc all seem faster than I have had them before. So, let me know your results (I have not tested GPS!).
And there yo go, your own freshy squeezed Hero, complete with all the trimmings. Baste lightly in your own choice of apps and serve.
Zeb
This post will be updated as newer packages are released.
</walloftext>
interesting, thanks. There's also an ADW-remover script on the Floyo page.
I didn't realise people were theming LauncherPro widgets to that extent, will have to investigate!
m8 you have done about 90% of the changes that i have put to my hero.
definitely is the perfect setup for me too.
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Dark Emotion said:
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are coming from VR12 you will have to do a FULL wipe of everything (nand, battery setting, dalvik etc) in recovery before flashing all of these packages. So make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before starting! I have no idea what effect flashing this stuff over an existing ROM will have as I did it all from scratch with a blank phone.
The Radio is possibly the riskiest aspect of this setup, and you can choose to leave it out alltogether if you wish, but for me this made possibly the largest difference, as everything from connecting to Wifi, switching back to 3G/HSPDA is much faster. Signal is better, and small things like initialising the dialler (the time it takes from me choosing to call a contact, to it actually ringing) feels much speedier, so I personally do recommend it! You don't need to use this Radio to use Flykernel 11c, so feel free to leave it out if you wish.
Zeb
Edit: I just noticed, do you mean, can you use Flykernel on it's own with VR12 without any of the other stuff? Yes, I believe you can, check you the Flykernel thread for more information, but I think it works for most ROMs.
Dark Emotion said:
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash only the kernel, you don't need to do anything else - No wipe at all necessary. Updating the radio is not related to the update of the kernel but still recommended as usually it also improves the hero experience and if there are problems you can always go back
I just received my refurbished hero (the digitalizer was dead) and am trying your setup. So far everything on the setup side was fine though I had a random reboot after flashing the kernel.
I will update with my feelings on this setup, thx for the guide!
I like this post ... what are the advantages of elelinux or floyo over the standard CM 6.1 release though? I tend to go for one of those instead for some reason!
mdon874 said:
I like this post ... what are the advantages of elelinux or floyo over the standard CM 6.1 release though? I tend to go for one of those instead for some reason!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that the authors of these releases make modifications to the kernel, as well as making theme changes, adding packages of their choice etc. Some distributions are modified more than others (and not ALL of them use Cyanogen as a base I believe). You'd have to look at the specifics of those other ROMS to see exactly what is different (sometimes it's small things, such as the way the jog-ball flashes or how the LED behaves, and sometimes it's bigger, like having hacked settings, or adding otehr keyboards like the HTC_IME mod (which Cyanogen doesn't have as standard, but I prefer the android keyboard anyways). You can always add these things in yourself later if you know how, which is what I have chosen to do using this setup. this way you have complete control over what is added to your phone.
Also, Flykernel, and the Radio mentioned here have serious performance benefits over other offerings as far as I am concerned. you COULD just flash those two over the ROM of your choice, but doing things the way I have mentioned above just gives you a larger level of granular control, if thats what you really want that is
Also, I have wanted to use Cyanogen as a base for a while to see how it was, but I found it very hard to find decent documentation on how to set it up correctly, that is why, once I worked it out, I decided to post the method I used here for other people to try.
Zeb
thanks for the quick reply I kinda like flashing and starting from scratch on a clean install and adding things bit by bit so I'm guna follow ur guide and set my hero up myself.... also thanks for pointing me in the direction of the alternate launcher pro mod ... looks pretty cool!
mdon874 said:
thanks for the quick reply I kinda like flashing and starting from scratch on a clean install and adding things bit by bit so I'm guna follow ur guide and set my hero up myself.... also thanks for pointing me in the direction of the alternate launcher pro mod ... looks pretty cool!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problemo! Just as a side-note, the kernel that COMES with Cyanogen 6.1 seems good enough, but I had problems with waking the phone up (sometimes I had to push the power button 3 or 4 times to get to the unlock screen). This is a pretty standard issue with a lot of kernels where the minimum clock speed is a little too low and the phone doesn't quite rev up enough when waking up. So, if using CM6.1 as a base (as posted above) Flykernel is a must (using the clockspeeds I posted above), as it removes this issue entirely and boosts overall performance.
Zeb
agree for the configuration, is the best(for now )
however,instead of sms popup i use handcent sms, the application is very similar to the application of the iPhone, and has a built-in sms popup...try it!
magokh said:
agree for the configuration, is the best(for now )
however,instead of sms popup i use handcent sms, the application is very similar to the application of the iPhone, and has a built-in sms popup...try it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice addition, thanks! I have used ChompSMS before, but I really like the messaging app in Android 2.2, so I prefer to stick with that and use SMS Popup to handle the quick reply (which is an awesome feature). Also, the theme I posted skins the SMSPopup notification screen to fit with the rest of the device, to it looks extra good and as though it was really all put together into a proper ROM package.
I haven't tried Handcent myself but I have heard good things about it, so yea, probably worth a try if you aren't keen on the stock SMS app!
Zeb
Thread moved to General.
thanks for this, very useful especially the sms popup thing
Hello to all and thank you for the great topics on whatever is needed to tweak the Hero to full potential. I would like to flash a new rom (from VR12). Should i flash CyanogenMod 6.1.0 RC1 or wait for a custom rom based on CM 6.1 like Floyo or Elelinux's ROM. What would you suggest?
HTC_ime simply does not work. every time i try to to start it it force closes. I followed instructions as i usually did every single time before. help?
marcinr said:
HTC_ime simply does not work. every time i try to to start it it force closes. I followed instructions as i usually did every single time before. help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't use HTC_IME mod so I haven't even tried installing it! I will try tomorrow and let you know if I make it work.
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
vladsk8 said:
Hello to all and thank you for the great topics on whatever is needed to tweak the Hero to full potential. I would like to flash a new rom (from VR12). Should i flash CyanogenMod 6.1.0 RC1 or wait for a custom rom based on CM 6.1 like Floyo or Elelinux's ROM. What would you suggest?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I much prefer this method! That's why I made this thread! Give it a try, if you don't like it you can always wipe the phone nice and easy and install Floyo!
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
Settings
Any chance you can add some of the settings you use, like cyanogen or spare parts settings? I followed your guide completely and its pretty fast but i think enabling JIT might help but im too afraid to try. Thank you
Related
hey guys. i'm a very nitpicky person and there has been a few "issues" that have been ticking at me lately. i wanted to ask to see if it's an issue with my rom (OMJ v3.1 odex) or just general issues with the phone that I have to live with.
1) for a 1ghz phone, it takes FOREVER to load. i'm usually anywhere from 15 to 45 seconds on the splash screen, after which the boot animation plays and maybe 10-15 seconds after the animation ends the phone starts to load....but it goes into the lock screen, and i have to unlock it, and then a million things start opening up, so that from screen off to fully loaded and ready to make a phone call the phone takes at least 1 minute, sometimes close to 2 minutes.
EDIT: just timed it - 45 seconds on splash screen, 25 seconds from end of boot animation to lock screen
i'm coming from a 667mhz WM6.1 phone that would boot, animation and all, be ready to call in 30 seconds or less.
i can live with the time it takes to load if it was normal...but then I hear things on here on how the evo loads in 8 seconds and i'm looking at mine and wondering what's wrong
is this a rom issue (OMJ v3.1 odex), kernel issue (king's #6), android (2.2), phone in general, or a result of all the different things we install on our phones (adblockers, superuser, custom flash, custom boot, etc)?
2) when the phone loads it always opens the dialer. i go back into home screen. throughout the day at least once or twice the dialer will randomly open on its own when i unlock my screen.
3) wi-fi at home is secured through wep2...but at school is unsecured to connect, but then you need to authenticate through the browser. sometimes this works, sometimes the browser (dolphin hd) just stays loading and doesnt take me to the authetication page...and the only way around is it to disable and enable wifi again. then everything is perfect.
is this a rom issue? or a dolphin hd issue?
4) I have LauncherProPlus with their custom icons from the website. whenever i restart the phone the icons for Dolphin HD, Documents to Go, MixZing and Pandora change to their standard icons. i have to restart launcherpro and they go to the matching icons i have throughout the homescreens. then at random points those three icons revert back to the stock icons, and i have to restart launcher pro.
is this a LP problem, a rom problem, or a me-specific problem?
5) perhaps the most important issue - i have problems downloading and installing certain apps in the market. I paid for lcd density changer and installed it. uninstalled it later on. now i'm trying to reinstall and I keep getting an installation unsuccesful message...same thing goes for Rom Manager (which i have installed, but installation unsuccessful with update), and many others. Some programs will update, some wont. Today I tried to download 3d gallery through the market and keep getting that issue.
this has happened with other programs in the past, where I thought maybe they werent meant for the EVO...but many of those had comments from EVO users??? and now some of those programs that wont install are programs I HAD or I HAVE installed!!!
is this a rom specific issue? or a market issue? or an odex issue? or does it have anything to do with having app2sd and move2sd enabler on the phone? none of the programs in question have been moved to the sd card...obviously not the ones like 3d gallery that I haven't yet installed.
so, thank you for reading through all that. any help in either of the issues will be greatly appreciated.
if most of the issues are rom-related i will go hunting for a new, stable rom. if they're general woes that come with owning the Evo then I guess i need to know that too.
thanks in advance!
I can't really help you much in terms of a solution, but coming from a Blackberry the EVO boot time seems very fast! However, the EVO is definitely not an 8 second loader, I don't know where you got that information.
is this a rom issue (OMJ v3.1 odex), kernel issue (king's #6), android (2.2), phone in general, or a result of all the different things we install on our phones (adblockers, superuser, custom flash, custom boot, etc)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just a guess, but I'd say it's the ROM you're using. Have you tried anything else? Make a nandroid backup of your phone now, then flash another ROM and test it out, it's easy to revert with the nandroid backup. Keep in mind the first time you load any newly flashed ROM it will take longer than normal to boot.
In my experience, stock 2.2 and all its OTA updates (and the ROM I use that is based on the latest OTA) are pretty good when it comes to boot times. Anything you install may have the potential to slow things down.
I'm currently using the VaelPak 2.2 ROM with the latest HTC kernel (no 30FPS limitation) which is very stable and very fast. VaelPak stripped out some of sense (not all) and I love how you have the choice between HTC/Sense elements or AOSP. For example, I actually like the HTC dialer, messaging, and contacts.
thanks.
i guess i'm going to have to flash a new rom...but it'll have to wait till next week!
i'll look into the different roms but i had thought of flashing CM6 since I'm not using any sense other than the dialer as far as i know
thanks
any other opinions are welcome!
Max_Pain said:
4) I have LauncherProPlus with their custom icons from the website. whenever i restart the phone the icons for Dolphin HD, Documents to Go, MixZing and Pandora change to their standard icons. i have to restart launcherpro and they go to the matching icons i have throughout the homescreens. then at random points those three icons revert back to the stock icons, and i have to restart launcher pro.
is this a LP problem, a rom problem, or a me-specific problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are all of those apps saved on your SD Card? I wonder if that has anything to do with it.
yes all four apps are in the sd card. i was using pandora and plugged the phone in to my pc to try to install that 3dgallerym.apk i found on here. pandora stopped (i'm assuming as the sd card was unmounted). after unplugging and the card was remounted i was able to open pandora again...but then the 4 icons had reverted again.
i'm starting to think that is a lp issue. i'll send a message to the developer see what he says about it.
Max_Pain said:
i'm starting to think that is a lp issue. i'll send a message to the developer see what he says about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI they have their own forum. You should see if it has already been answered there.
http://www.launcherpro.com/forum/
The boot up taking so long is do to custom roms being deodexed.. It puts the odex file into the apks so that you can theme a rom without any problems. Stock roms arent deodexed so they boot up a lot faster. Its the only downside to deodexing a rom.
Also you should try to start fresh.. wipe data and dalvik and reboot. Then see if you have a problems with downloading and stuff. It might be cache left on the phone messing it up. If a clean data/dalvik wipe doesnt fix your problems then its most likely the rom or user error. Try a different rom for couple weeks and see if you come across the same problems.
My rom is odexed...
Im going to try cm6 next week most likely...
Swyped from an HTC Evo on MetroPCS...
First off, are you running a task killer or manager? If so, uninstall and reboot. A lot of the time this is the source of problems. Android manages its own tasks quite well. I can go into a lot more details if you'd like about why you shouldn't use one.
If not using a task killer or that did not help....
I say try Fresh ROM or Myn's Warm. Fresh is very stable. I think you may have a corrupt download of the ROM. However, since you are using LP you don't seem like a Sense UI person so CM6 may be your option. However, it does not have 4G nor HDMI. Personally, I love Fresh ROM. The dev came from the Hero like me and has a very very good track record for being stable and fixing things. And he is a cool guy.
Install one of those and then post back if you still have problems. I think this will fix it.
BTW did you flash from another ROM and use a backup app to restore? This can cause problems with ROMs that have different settings and options.
As for boot times, like the earlier guy said deodexed ROMs do extra stuff while booting. Also, lots of apps can cause slow boots because they start up on boot. You can use an app to disable them.
And last, app not installing. Hit menu-settings-applications-manage applications. Hit the SD tab and see if those apps show up. If so, click on them and uninstall. This will most like fix that issue.
Post back results here or if you need further help. We will be glad to help.
-Ken
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.
Pandora has always been glitchy. Its a great service, but they need a new programmer.
8 second phone. I think not. Try the Desire Z (G2), their version of Froyo looks faster.
If your new to the EVO, give it some time. Its a smartphone, and anyone with experience knows that all smartphones are temperamental some times, just like computers.
Brutal-Force said:
Pandora has always been glitchy. Its a great service, but they need a new programmer.
8 second phone. I think not. Try the Desire Z (G2), their version of Froyo looks faster.
If your new to the EVO, give it some time. Its a smartphone, and anyone with experience knows that all smartphones are temperamental some times, just like computers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've been on the evo for a little over a month now getting into it hard...i've learned too much too quickly...but yeah i definitely see the "like computers" temperamental issues at times.
notasimpleway said:
First off, are you running a task killer or manager? If so, uninstall and reboot. A lot of the time this is the source of problems. Android manages its own tasks quite well. I can go into a lot more details if you'd like about why you shouldn't use one.
not using any task manager. used to have advanced task killer but someone else recommended uninstalling it before.
If not using a task killer or that did not help....
I say try Fresh ROM or Myn's Warm. Fresh is very stable. I think you may have a corrupt download of the ROM. However, since you are using LP you don't seem like a Sense UI person so CM6 may be your option. However, it does not have 4G nor HDMI. Personally, I love Fresh ROM. The dev came from the Hero like me and has a very very good track record for being stable and fixing things. And he is a cool guy.
im considering CM6 because i barely use any sense apps. mainly flashlight, clock and htc lockscreen. i'm on metropcs so i cant use 4G and i dont have a HDTV so no need for HDMI
Install one of those and then post back if you still have problems. I think this will fix it.
BTW did you flash from another ROM and use a backup app to restore? This can cause problems with ROMs that have different settings and options.
have not done that...and now i know not to do it when i change roms.
As for boot times, like the earlier guy said deodexed ROMs do extra stuff while booting. Also, lots of apps can cause slow boots because they start up on boot. You can use an app to disable them.
And last, app not installing. Hit menu-settings-applications-manage applications. Hit the SD tab and see if those apps show up. If so, click on them and uninstall. This will most like fix that issue.
well the problem is 1) if the app is in my sd card, i dont need to uninstall it, just move it to the phone and then i can update it. but i have over 100 apps installed, it is not practical to do this for every update for every app! 2)some apps, like LCD Density Changer, which I paid and had installed before, wont install at all and i dont have it installed...so what there?
Post back results here or if you need further help. We will be glad to help.
-Ken
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think i'm definitely changing roms....just have to consider if i want to get a stock rom or go to cm6
notasimpleway said:
I say try Fresh ROM or Myn's Warm. Fresh is very stable. I think you may have a corrupt download of the ROM. However, since you are using LP you don't seem like a Sense UI person so CM6 may be your option. However, it does not have 4G nor HDMI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP's sig says he has his EVO on MetroPCS; if that's the case then lack of 4G shouldn't be a concern.
That's the only real thing keeping me from trying CM6, even though there are only a few pockets of 4G coverage where I live.
Well I switched roms to ava v9 and some of the issues seem to have gone away...but still having problems installing apps from market...many if the apps and games I had before on my previous rom give an installation unsuccessful message...
Im thinking it may be something I damaged by installing htc and sprint apps right after flashing the rom...I'm going to restore all those files and see what happens...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
All,
I know this has been talked about again and again and again, but I haven't quite found my answer looking through other threads. This is what I'm looking for, could one of you Rom Wh*r*s help me out. I have pretty precise wants!
1) Must be stable! No random reboots, no FC's
2) NO LAG! I don't care about scores! I don't care about how fast it is, I care about whether or not it's going to lag on me while I'm using it, or trying to make a quick call or a quick camera shot (for those moments) and not being able to
3) Battery Life MUST be at least the same as the stock rom!
4) Everything must work! I don't want a Rom where WiFi randomly disconnects, or Voice Calling doesn't work, you get the idea...
5) I really don't care about blurry or not. I use slidescreen as my primary home w/ Go Launcher as the "alternative". The slidescreen 2 beta 3 has been PERFECT for me
6) Contacts Picture integration from Facebook would be nice, as well as Picasa integration in gallery as well would be nice
7) Good Theme support. I'd like to try out a bunch of themes w/o having to load different roms.
8) A bunch of extra teaks and features would be cool too. I love to play with settings.
What do you guys think, is it out there? Basically, I'm trying to get as close to CM without actually running CM, since we can't
Up Your Moto
I'm not a rom wh*re but I installed Fission and as far as I can see it qualifies all of your requirements. Compared to standard blur it's a lot snappier and seems to give a pretty good increase in battery life. Which I think has to do with all the services that are no longer running, I've got 3 now compared to several dozen with Blur. You can also use the Fission Rom Manager to install themes for you so it's just as easy as select and install. I had a hard time deciding between all the roms out there but decided to go with this one as it seemed the closest to what I wanted; A vanilla like rom with some tweaks of improvement.
Hey guys,
I broought a desire z nam (Bell mobility branded) over the holidays. This is my first android device, so after a month of using it, I finally feel like I have my bearings for the platform (I'm coming from symbian). However, I have a few questions:
When I brought the phone, it came unlocked (I'm using it on AT&T's network in the US. Does this mean the phone has already been rooted? Is there an easy way I can check on this?
Since I am using the phone on at&t network, how will updates work for me? Is it possible for me to get any OTA updates? Or am I restricted to custom roms for updates? I am a little hesitant to use custom roms, as I need this phone to be reliable above all else, and I keep hearing about how unstable some of those roms can be.
What exactly is Cyberon Voice Commander? I always see it hogging a huge amount of memory in my running apps, and I'm wondering if its one of the base apps included with android. Searching around, it seems that it is used for speech to text, so if I remove it, will voice seach and voice actions no longer work?
Speaking of running apps, is it normal to have 50+ apps running at the same time? This phone boots with a ton of apps already running, and a lot of them seem like system processes. The phone does feel sluggish at time; however, this being my first and only android device, I don't really have a good reference to whether this is normal or not.
The touchscreen seems off. It always tends to register touches slighty above or below where my finger hits (super annoying when you're trying to select something on a list) is there any way to calibrate the screen?
On the subject of screens, is there a way to activate the screen other than pressing the power button? That button is a bit hard to reach for me, especially with 1 hhand operation
Htcsense.com doesn't seem to be working for me. It can't locate my phone, making the phone ring doesn't do anything, and I don't see the menu bar up top. Anyone know what's up with it?
And finally, I'm trying to find a good chinese handwriting input method; the phone comes with pinyin and wubihua input methods on the default htc keyboard, but no handwriting reconginition. The only app I found on the market for it is terrrible at picking up my strokes (HanWriting IME), can anyone recommend anything for it?
Thanks a bunch
I have the same device running on ATT as well.
The phone does not come 'rooted' even if it is an unlocked version. Root allows you to write to the 'OS Partition' on the phone memory in addition to other things. To check if you have root, you need to boot into the recovery mode of the phone. The first line in recovery will read either S-OFF (root obtained) or S-ON (no root). I suggest reading up on 'GFREE' and using that method to obtain root. Visionary is also an option, but doesn't appear to be as 'safe' as GFREE.
As far as I know, we are on our own for OTA updates. I have been using Custom ROMs on my device since about day 3 of owning it and it was the best decision I have made. I currently run CyanogenMod 6.1 and it runs great. Much better than stock. It is VERY stable and I haven't had any issues, everything is working. They are currently developing CyanogenMod 7 (Android 2.3) but it not officially released as stable version yet.
I am not familiar with that Voice Commander app. Check Google.
I don't have 50+ apps running but do have quite a few. Froyo 2.2 (shipped on phone with HTC Sense Skin) is designed to automatically shut down applications that are not being used so they do not eat up system resources. I didn't use stock for long, so I can't say how it performs but I have no lag issues with Cyanogen.
I do recall a 'calibration' option on Stock, but again I didn't use it for long and can't remember where it was.
In Cyanogen mod you can wake up the screen by pressing the track pad. Search in the Themes and Apps section of the Desire Z/G2 forum and there is an application you can install that does the same thing. I think its called Trackpad Wake.
Sorry never used HTCsense.com or any chinese writing apps. For the writing app, you can check the Android Themes/Applications thread from the main forum page. There are lots of other apps discussed there that are no in the Desire Z forum.
Welcome to Android!
Some good answer in the post above. Just to add some additional info:
The Vision Wiki describes how to verify root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
But your phone is likely not rooted. When you buy a phone unlocked, that usually means SIM unlocked, so you can use other SIM cards besides Bell. Cell phone dealers usually just have ways to get the SIM unlock codes for phones, same as the paid SIM unlock services you find on eBay and other places.
All ROMs have bugs, including the "official" ones. In my experience, the custom ROMs usually are more stable and less bugs than the official ones they are based on. In any case, I wouldn't worry too much about OTA updates. If you want to flash an official ROM, they get posted on here faster then you would get them OTA.
I just checked, and I have exactly 50 apps running on my Bell Desire Z (running on AT&T like you). I wouldn't worry about it. As mentioned in the previous reply, Android is designed to keep processes open in the background until the memory is needed, then it kills idle processes as needed.
I've never used a Symbian phone. But the Desire Z is one of the fastest Android phones currently on the market. It gets bogged down a bit by the Sense UI in some conditions (especially if you have lots of widgets loaded). But this is minor, and I have found the performance to be very good overall. If you want some more speed, you can root and overclock the CPU. Overclocking to 1 GHz does not even increase voltage to the CPU, so the effect on battery life and risk is minimal.
HTCSense.com is still a work in progress, unfortunately. The features not working is normal, its not just you.
Cyberon Voice Commander is bloatware pre-installed by Bell. Its supposed to allow you to command the phone (with your voice, obviously) without having to touch the screen to perform certain functions (call or find a contact, play a song, etc.). But its pretty useless, and pure crap, IMO. Even when it recognizes your command, it will often still require touch input to make the selection, which completely defeats the purpose! Its faster to just access the functions the normal way.
Bloatware is part of the ROM, and therefore not completely straightforward to remove. All methods require the phone be rooted, AFAIK. The following thread has a method (using Titanium Backup) to remove most of the bloat.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=831584
I've also found a paid app ($1.99) on the market called Absolute System Root Tool removes the bloatware successfully
As mentioned, there is a hack to make the trackpad button wake the phone. But I couldn't tell if the feature could be removed or turned off, so I haven't tried it yet, personally.
Aha, a fellow Symbian convert! Welcome to the greatest phone ever - like an N97 that doesn't suck. I used to run Symbian-Guru.com - please feel free to PM me with *any* questions, I still love to help folks.
I would *highly* suggest you root your phone, if for no other reason than to dump the bloatware that comes with it and be able to take screenshots and that sort of thing. You may also want to look at the Virtuous ROM - it's a port of the Desire Z ROM that has some extras built-in. I've been using it on my G2 pretty much since I got it and it's fan-freakin-tastic. I easily get 12-15hrs of battery life, and that's with normal usage. It also has trackpad wake built right in - it's awesome.
Most of your other questions were answered above. In any case, welcome to XDA, and to Android.
Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks
Before you flash any different ROM you should do what is called a "nandroid" backup of your current ROM via Clockwork Recovery/ROM Manager (which you can install once you have root and S-OFF).
No, flashing a different ROM will not lose your SIM unlock.
If you have SuperCID from gfree, then you will be able to flash different official ROMs, not just the Bell one.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please hit the "thanks" button on the responses that were helpful to you. So those of use that took the time to answer can increase their thanks meters!
You're not completely alone. I like Sense also! FYI, the Virtuous ROM recommended by orange bandit is a custom one built on the Sense UI. Although I'm probably going to wait until a Gingerbread Sense ROM myself.
makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Virtuous ROM is basically the same as what you're running now, but fully rooted with some improvements here and there (trackpad wake, a bit of overclocking, etc).
There is a Rosie hack to be able to replace the right dock button with whatever you want, here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876464
I did it on my Virtuous ROM, works great, though I couldn't stand the simplicity of Sense and went back to LauncherPro, myself.
I have looked into some stuff, and I'm getting an idea of what my ROM is going to look like.
ROM details
Name: Entity
Theme: Entity white/blue (white/blue [very] minimalistic theme)
Based on: Cyanogenmod 7.1.0 (Android 2.3.4) - will be changed to a stable version as soon as available
Kernel: Jame Bond sabai dee 1.5.9
Features
- Revamped homescreen. I will use ADW Launcher for that.
- New pre-installed apps. I'm planning to include paid apps, but if I do, I won't be able to upload it here anymore. Haven't found a solution
- Heavily themed. EVERYTHING is themed, even all the pre-installed apps
- Revamped settings menu. New layout, removed settings I never use anyway, and added new settings. I will also change the settings menus of pre-installed apps
- Voodoo Sound
- BLN
- No ads
- More theme colors in the future!
Details
I want my ROM to be perfect for me. It resembles what I want. The reason that my theme has the same name, is because the theme is the biggest part of the ROM. My goal is to create a fresh-looking ROM. All pre-installed apps will look the same, making it more of an entity, hence the name. It will also be much clearer than stock ROM or CM7.
Because I'm making this ROM for myself, it is possible that I deleted some things you might not want me to delete. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about that. I'm planning on uploading my ROM, but that's all. I will not take requests. What I will do, is include a list of all the things I've changed compared to CM7, so you can check if you want my ROM. If you have my taste, you will like my ROM. If not, that's not a big deal. I'm not uploading it because I want many people to use my ROM. I'm uploading it because... why not? Maybe people like it. Who knows.
I'll upload three files:
- The whole ROM, excluding Google Apps (don't know why CM and I can't include Gapps, but NSCollab can...?) and paid apps.
- The themed Gapps. Can't upload the themed paid apps.
- The theme
It might be possible with Theme Chooser to theme the paid apps. That way you can just download/buy the paid apps, and the Theme Chooser will theme them. That's something for the future though.
Cool man, im pretty much doing the same thing as you except im making a kernel
Wish you luck, ill be following this thread
Get it
Uncle Jimmy says hello
Igotsanevo4g said:
Cool man, im pretty much doing the same thing as you except im making a kernel
Wish you luck, ill be following this thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, good luck to you too!
It looks like you are more experienced. I have no experience at all except for some rooting experience. I'm still suprised that I managed to root my device without much help . Other than that I installed some custom ROMs but that isn't difficult.
I saw you have experience with making some basic ROMs. Regarding the ROM making, this is what I will do:
- Experiment with the HTC Android Kitchen
- Change the settings menu (+ settings menus on pre-installed apps):
Change the text on buttons
Change the order in which the buttons are shown
Remove some buttons that I don't use anyway
Move buttons from one section to another
Add some settings (the hardest one probably). For example I would like to add the voodoo settings in the settings menu
- That's about it I guess, don't really know what I could change with my knowledge.
The thing is, I'm mainly after changing the looks and experience. My goal is to make it look like nothing you've seen before. I want it to be clean, fresh, and it must look like it's one whole. And because I'm mainly after changing the looks, what else is there to change other than settings on pre-installed apps and some things HTC Android Kitchen can do?
So that's what I wanted to ask you: what is something you did when making basic ROMs?
Updated the first post. I'm kind of getting an idea of what I want.
Androyed said:
Cool, good luck to you too!
It looks like you are more experienced. I have no experience at all except for some rooting experience. I'm still suprised that I managed to root my device without much help . Other than that I installed some custom ROMs but that isn't difficult.
I saw you have experience with making some basic ROMs. Regarding the ROM making, this is what I will do:
- Experiment with the HTC Android Kitchen
- Change the settings menu (+ settings menus on pre-installed apps):
Change the text on buttons
Change the order in which the buttons are shown
Remove some buttons that I don't use anyway
Move buttons from one section to another
Add some settings (the hardest one probably). For example I would like to add the voodoo settings in the settings menu
- That's about it I guess, don't really know what I could change with my knowledge.
The thing is, I'm mainly after changing the looks and experience. My goal is to make it look like nothing you've seen before. I want it to be clean, fresh, and it must look like it's one whole. And because I'm mainly after changing the looks, what else is there to change other than settings on pre-installed apps and some things HTC Android Kitchen can do?
So that's what I wanted to ask you: what is something you did when making basic ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all i'll start by saying that putting paid apps on there and releasing it in any form is a major no-no. Do NOT do that.
Most of the stuff ive messed with is sense roms back on my Evo. Things like removing sense, zip aline on boot, deodexing, re-directing the path of some apps, and playing with some status bar mods and other stuff im probably forgetting.
Im not sure what you mean by "buttons" which buttons are you talking about? Menu buttons? As for adding apps in the settings menu, i dont think it will be to complicated. For a start you can look at a stock CM7 build and track down how they link ADW to the settings menu.
Dont worry about making a masterpiece of a rom, we all gotta start somewhere and im not much more versed in this than you
Needless to say, dont hesitate to Gtalk/G+ me [[email protected]] and ill *try* to help you out
Igotsanevo4g said:
First of all i'll start by saying that putting paid apps on there and releasing it in any form is a major no-no. Do NOT do that.
Most of the stuff ive messed with is sense roms back on my Evo. Things like removing sense, zip aline on boot, deodexing, re-directing the path of some apps, and playing with some status bar mods and other stuff im probably forgetting.
Im not sure what you mean by "buttons" which buttons are you talking about? Menu buttons? As for adding apps in the settings menu, i dont think it will be to complicated. For a start you can look at a stock CM7 build and track down how they link ADW to the settings menu.
Dont worry about making a masterpiece of a rom, we all gotta start somewhere and im not much more versed in this than you
Needless to say, dont hesitate to Gtalk/G+ me [[email protected]] and ill *try* to help you out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already thought paid apps wouldn't be a good idea. I'll do that only for myself then (since I already paid for them).
With buttons I mean the buttons in the settings apk. Like the button to turn on/off WiFi. But it looks you already know what I mean. Tracking down how they added ADW is an awesome idea, thanks a lot for that! That will probably also help me with the other things I want to add/change/remove in the settings apk.
I'm really excited about it, and playing around with the HTC Android ROM kitchen today gave me good hopes. When I encounter a problem, I'll contact you.
Thanks!
Updated the first post. I think the ROM name is going to be Entity.
Hello all!
This is my very first post on this forum... I wanted to post it in the official developer's thread, but I have no permissions to do so and I have no other choice than write it right here.... So I hope you enjoy it and so the developers. Ah, I'm from Brazil... so sorry about my poor English.
A week ago, I downloaded the latest M&M's MIUI rom (V.6) and installed in my Xperia X10. "But fallenearth, have you, in one week, experienced enough to write a review?" Yes, I did.
First of all, I have the X10a. Might be that some issues I had is because the Rom was made for X10i.. I don't know...
The good things about this ROM:
First one, is the speed. Wow! They've capped out the frameskip, and the animations and transitions flow very well. Everything runs fast. You flip the page, and there it is... doesn't choke like basically all the other roms.
The interface is very clean, so you don't need to worry about all the crappy widgets the CM roms have. By the way, this rom is based on FXP CM7.2, but much, much better. I know how people love CM, but for xperia.... hmmm...
The theme that comes with the rom is superb. There are a lot of graphics controls and options... you can even choose the color of the led for any instance of callings.
There are specific options for the launcher... witch is common, but nicely arranged.
The installation is very easy, specially because the Aroma installer. It's like installing a default program in your pc, with the touchscreen working. Really well done (even the screen keeps sliding to the right... but it's ok, much better than just in the recovery boot program)
Now, the bad things
I've experienced a lot of flaws in this rom.
The first I detected was the difficulty to connect to some WiFi devices, like the CM roms. Depending on the device, it takes an eternity to connect. Yes, I've installed the wifi modules correctly (if you don't, in attempt to switch the wifi on, you'll receive an error message).
Some apps crashes. All the entertaining "booth" apps from Pivi & Co. stop to work. The latest Root Explorer release doesn't work either. A bunch of backed up apps failed to start, so you have to download it again, losing all the backed up data...
There is no App Launcher button. In the beginning, you get lost, and then you find out that all the apps you download and install get loose in the main screen. Well, there is a magic the scroll down the full program list, but I confess... with the status bar activated, you'll rarely will be able to do so. Then, if you want to uninstall some app, you'll have to do by App Manager. It's not a real complaint, but you have to get used with it, and it might take some time.
They messed up the proximity sensor. It just doesn't work, even it turned on in settings.
The camera... oh god the camera... It comes with 2 main camera apps - the MIUI's and the Cm7. No FC and Flashlight works in CM7 Camera App, so I'll not even consider this one.
The MIUI camera, they said they'd improved it. But maybe for worse. There is no zoom, even if you choose to use the volume buttons to turn it on or off. The camera image in display lags a lot, and it's common the app crash. So, I'm sorry, but the camera sucks hard. Two camera apps and none works.
A lot of itens, shortcuts and buttons and some apps are in chinese. So, if youre not a china guy or a Jedi, you'll have to do a "Russian roulette" to choose between Task Manager or App kill, for instance.
The MIUI Music App might be the second worst thing about the rom (losing only for the camera). It's beautiful, have a lots of settings, easy to use, have a EQ, a Fade setting... It would be one of the best music app for android.... but it crashes, and crashes a lot, crashes really hard and you have to pull out the batteries and reboot the phone. It conflicts with the Activity Launcher and... dead end, reboot your phone. In a lot of times it shutted down alone, by itself, and if I pulled out the batteries it won't restart. In the main thread, they say:
Have you Problems with Freeze/FC`S etc..please do one of the following or both:
Disable the EQ (Press the menu button from within the MIUI MUSIC APP and press "Disable EQ"), or..
Turn OFF fade settings in the settings of the MIUI MUSIC APP (press the menu button,
go into settings and scroll to the bottom, its there!)
if you try one or the other and still have the issue then try both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn! If you have related bugs in your App and you know it before it's release, you just don't release it with the bugged issues. You try to fix, and then when you can't detect anymore bugs, you release it.
They haven't added the setting "hold volume button to change the song while locked". This is outrageous. Now they have "Shake your phone to change song"... Well, if you're going to jog, make a cooper or something... well, you're screwed.
The "Updating" app (to update the rom) doesn't work at all. If you click "search for updates, a dialog box flashes into the screen and disappears. Than, you think that it might be a "sign up" issue. So, you try to sign up. It requires your cell number to send a activation SMS. If you're in Brazil like me, for example, there's no way you number can be accepted. Always "invalid" number. So, you go to the "e-mail registration", which, I think, should be to instead a SMS, it sends you an activation e-mail. So, you click there, and you're sent to a web page of registration... all in chinese.... so...
This is not a official complaint... I mean, this is constructive information about issues I've found... I know how hard people work onto this, by themselves... But, issue detected, more chances to fix it and build a flawless rom.
So, final conclusion:
If you seek for a good, clean and fast rom, this is, from far, the best of the customs.
If you seek stability and performance, all working apps etc, I suggest the ol' good original Sony Ericsons' stock rom.
Hope you like it.
Hugs for all!
Not fully Translated to ENGLISH... Many Places Only Chinese
This ROM still not fully translated to English..
I found Chinese in many places... RESULT UNINSTALL....
Please make a full English ROM...
ROM seems very good but cannot understand few Chinese characters.
...
then flash v4 and be happy (but without better speed, smoother, miui transition, beats, xloud, bravia engine, aroma installer and and and..)
Greets
Maik MM TEAM
M&M Team MIUI is Best
HI,
M&M MIUI is one of the best Custom ROM based on MIUI.
I love to use MIUI but I am not able to find the best one (based on 2.3.7) similar to Cyanogenmod.
I will wait for your perfect ROM soon... Probably V7 or V8.
tried this rom today... it's ok, but oodie's prime x miui rom is far better... much smoother animations, more stable, camera works better, music app doesn't crash...
try it, it has all the good things from m&m's miui, plus some things work better
Guys, please do not compare our rom with Oodies (Great ROM) because its total other ROM.
Our ROM based on FXP and is faster because we have new driver/new Kernel etc..
Yes its right, Camcorder is laggy in High resolution but we wait for fix from FXP Team BUT Camera works FULL!! (Zoom is not surpported in Custom ROMS)
About other Issues..V4 is the stablest ROM the actually, V6 is smoother faster and has many Features but little Problems with chinese Words and 2 apps gives FC but is fixed from Team Member Mao!!
BTW: About Animation we delete ICS Transition because it seems that the ROM is more faster like our old Version with ICS Transition!
Have a nice Weekend!
Greets
Maik MM TEAM
Our ROM would be much better if the people using it (1) Read install guides and FAQ's and (2) Learned how to use logcat to report bugs.... I am a little insulted by this review, because you are criticizing our work and many of your complains are to do with FXP and MiUI creators themselves. It's not our fault
Good rom camera video lag?
What the change to v7.1?
I had Oodie's MIUI and M&M's MIUI and they were great...Excellent speed and functionality but sometimes very unstable, i dont like MIUI interface so i deleted them.
Im trying FeraLab Roms and they are great! Best choice and that would be my recommendation
Smoot, lots of tweak, customization 100%, Xperia S Software based, Undervolt feature that provides more battery life...
Recommending a Rom should be made on that roms thread.... Do not discourage people from trying this Rom. ...let them try n see....
No hard feelings pls
sEnT fRoM ~d LaRgeSt SeCuLaR RePubLiC iN d WoRld~ JAi hO iNdiA