yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] IronMit:
There are already dedicated threads for this;

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1103399&highlight=ki4

I spent 1-2 hours reading trying to understand stuff that seemed like jargon to me from the start. But when i actually did it, it took 40 seconds!

Make sure you install Kies and plug your phone in first if you havn't already done that...the drivers need to load.

'rooted kernals' or 'bits of edited firmware' are available on the same thread on post 2 and 3.

You basically look at the letter-number of your kernal version find the 6mb equivilent put into odin and flash whilst in download mode. and you are rooted.

If you want to change your kernal use a 'stock kernal first' this is the entire firmware and it will be 100mb+.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1075278

Flash the same way. and then restart and flash the 6mb equivilent to root again.

When you root a little exclamation symbol comes up... to let everyone know you have voided warrantly incase you return it for repairs. But you just flash something again and thats gone.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
Thanks, my kernel version's 2.6.35.7-I9100XWKF3-CL276555 root @DELL101 #2

So what would be the latest and best FW I should go for from this link (assuming I do not wish to change my kernel right now) :-

http://xdaforums.com/show....php?t=1075278

Also, what's the meaning of "official". Does it mean, even with ODIN updates (as opposed to Kies), as long as I use these "official" FW, my warranty would remain intact or would getting rid of yellow <!> always revalidate my (voided) warranty?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Confusion! Confusion!

- SuperOneClick helps you root your phone.

- A Kernel is the basic piece of software

- It is programmed to work with your phone's hardware and the UI (OS)

- STOCK Kernel is write protected and it won't allow you to peek inside it.

- Using Odin you flash the phone with Insecure Kernel (Unlocked Kernel)

- SuperOneClick helps you install some add-on softwares which work hand-in-hand with the Unlocked Kernel

- Once the phone is rooted every time you reboot your phone you'd see any ugly exclamation mark. That means phone is indicating that something is not right.

- To get rid of that exclamation mart once you're done rooting the phone, flash the phone with STOCK Kernel and that exclamation will be gone.

To root follow the instructions on this page). I recommend it.

The whole Android is Open Source. So once tweaked you get lot of variants from lot of developers. Every country gets a different Firmware depending on Network and their regional preferences.

Rather getting into those, try to keep it simple. Make sure that you have latest Android OS on your phone with latest Kernel. There are lot of firmwares posted on XDA Firmware page. They are all alphabetical. Higher the alphabet latest the firmware is.

I'm using the below one. It's working just fine in India. And that's the firmware with Latest Kernel and Latest Android Release for Galaxy S2 to date.

ZSKI3

Firmware info

PDA:ZSKI3

PHONE: XXKI3

Date: 23/09/2011

Android 2.3.5

TGY (Hong Kong): http://www.multiupload.com/LAWZ135UF3

ZSKI3 Stock Kernel: http://www.multiupload.com/RH5K6JPH44

---------- Post added at 06:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 PM ----------

ODIN is advanced. Kies is plane and simple and it's meant to be used by everyone. ODIN is sort of Back Door as per Samsung.

The current official Android version on India Galaxy S2 is 2.3.3. You know that Hong Kong has 2.3.5 is available from sources like XDA. But your Kies won't say a thing and when you try to check for update, it says your phone is up-to-date. So you get yourself Hong Kong Firmware and flash it with ODIN.

Assume something happens to your phone (which I hope not) and you go to Samsung with that exclamation mark after rooting, they may try to pin everything on you. So to be on safer side, get rid of that exclamation mark. When you alter the phone and you go back with complaints, that exclamation may jeopardize you and your situation. To avoid that you'll have to flash the STOCK Kernel back on phone.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tanjiajun_34:
At least samsung do update gs2 and pretty much confirm updating to ics, unlike htc which is still not sure....
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
Thanks a ton, Arunk :-

Question : Does that mean you can never root with a Stock Kernel?

Great link! Thanks!

Would flashing a new FW/kernel erase all my already-installed apps? Are apps in Android dependent on FW/kernel versions? If yes, does it mean that I run the risk of disabling some (if not all) apps after a FW/kernel change?

OK, I will be trying Hong Kong out, shortly :D

But FYI, my newly purchased phone had this :-

PDA:KE8/PHONE:KE2/CSC:KE2(INU)

Kies notified me that a new firmware was available with :-

PDA:KF3/PHONE:KE4/CSC:KF3(INU)

But when I tried to update via Kies, for days, mind you, I was unsuccessful. So now, I am avoiding it like the plague. But I was scared to brick my phone, so I found out the official FW link at XDA and chose to download the closest one to what Kies reported was the next upgrade, I was also concerned about voiding my warranty, so I chose this "official FW" path.

Of course I used ODIN, and after upgrading with it, I got this :-

PDA:KF3/PHONE:KE7/CSC:KF1(INU)

which is slightly different from what Kies "offered" me (compare above). That's why I wanted to know what "official FW" on XDA meant.

Anyway, now that I know a few things more, maybe I shouldn't be too worried about installing only "Official" stuff :)

Thanks again!
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Stock Kernel!

It's not like that.. :)

Assume a stock Kernel has files A, B and C with some file version signature. Custom Kernel is something which will have a additional files D and E along with A, B and C. Those D and E will help you control your device as super user.

- Once you flash with Custom Kernel to root your phone, the original A, B and C are replaced with unsigned A, B and C and hence the exclamation

- But after you re-flash with stock Kernel, the Original A, B and C are back keeping D and E

- That way you've Super User Privilege and you don't have exclamation

Which means you can root with Stock Kernel! :D

- I've flashed 12 times till now and my apps stayed intact

- To answer your question, yes they are independent of Kernel Versions

- Even the data stays intact (like videos, Pics and music)

One thing you need to ensure is, you don't check Repartition in Odin and load a PIT file. PIT (Partition Information Table) cracks your existing setup and creates a new file system. That results in data loss.

As long as you just keep flashing PDA, Phone and CSC.. You should be good! ;)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
Getting clearer by the day!

That's a great explanation (yet again). Thanks!

BTW, I'm on HongKong FW as suggested by you. Flashed it last Saturday.

I got no yellow exclamation, most probably because its an official ROM?

But what are the new features in ZSKI3 or any FW? Are they listed anywhere on XDA? Or as Intratech says, do we have to treat them as "a box of chocolates"?

Can we continue to use Kies for backing up everything just in case before flashing a new firmware with ODIN? Will Kies always be able to restore the backup irrespective of FW/Kernel version?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Custom!

Any time! :)

Yep.. You're guess is right!

I've been treating them as box of chocolates.. :D I haven't seen any valid info what the latest or changed frimware version does. But I read somewhere that initial releases had some battery backup, multi-tasking issues and they are addressed in latest firmware releases.

Kies won't actually know anything about your firmware or Android Version.. All it needs is a Stock Samsung Firmware to work perfectly to perform data(music, videos, notes, messages, contacts) backup and restore.. Doesn't matter what version of kernel the Phone is built up on! The only Firmware/ROM that isn't recognized by Kies is Cyanogen Mod. I think that goes same with other Custom ROMs(Lightening Speed, Oxygen etc) as well.

Cheers!

A.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
Googled. Found this, although I do not think they're all accurate :-

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1278301

BTW, XXKI3 seemed to boot slower than my previous FW.

But how does Kies show the current version then?

In these cases, what to use for backup and restore?

Lastly, in my phone, I see an option : Software Update. Can this also be used for updating the FW/Kernel in lieu of ODIN?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Kies!

Well.. I'd say "No Comments" on that.. Because.. Every Firmware release changes something or the other. Some major or some minor or some with updated radio bands/frequencies to work with different networks. So.. I think it may be true to a certain extent. But I did indeed observe difference in UI, like scroll bar and screen bounce back when I switched from 2.3.3 to 2.3.5.

In 2.3.3 when I tried to pull the menu screens down.. They'd come as far as I can pull and bounce back. In 2.3.5 it just stays there and gives a kind of blue glow and it keeps occupying the screen when I try to pull it down. I think that isn't a major difference though.. But to confirm.. Something or the other changes with every release.. It's just that it can't be noticed by a common eye..! :D

Hmm... I think we don't need to worry about it as we are on ZSKI3. For me it works super fine. The thing that matters is how creative is bootloader designed.. Samsung stock boot loader stays blank (black) half the time and just shows "S" animated and "S II" logos.. But when you flash with carrier released firmware, they have quite an artistic boot loaders.. Like mermaid jumping out of water and turning to "3 Network".. Keeps you occupied, entertained and enthralled while the boot is in process!! You won't feel the lag! :D

I'm not sure if I got your question right.. From my understanding it goes like this.

On top of Kernel, Phone and Modem firmware there is a CSC package. That defines which country the phone belongs and with what type of networks/carriers in that country is the phone compatible with. It's a sort of localization software. Assume Samsung has released S2 with 2.3.3 INUXX firmware in India, Kies can read it from CSC and keeps on checking for latest firmware. But if you flash the phone with ZKSI3 which is way advanced to the version that currently phone is supposed to be on.. Kies won't mind it. It's just that it won't find any updates as the Kies is already pre-programmed with all about to come and already available Firmware versions.

I didn't stay that long on CyanogenMod to test this. But my guess is.. You have lot of Backup apps available on Market.

That's for OTA (Over The Air) update purposes and that also keeps your phone linked to Samsung Account. Which in turn helps you locate your phone using GPS and your number and also it helps in remote wiping the device(when lost). Assume you don't connect to Kies (PC) and there is a latest firmware available for your phone, when your on Data Network, Software Update checks, downloads and deploys the software. It isn't a sort of full control mode thingie as compared to Odin. It just updates what Samsung gives..
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
Gripes!

So Android leaves us like blind men groping in the dark, eh? Well, I find this a bit silly. IMHO, whoever comes up with a new FW should be able to publicize what's inside the "box of chocolates" (there could be poison in there, too :D).

One gripe I'm having right now is that double tapping on the phone's head doesn't start the voice app. Does it work on yours?

True...we should also be able to do these boot entertainers on our own, eh?

So Kies depends on the CSC only? I mean, if I want India (INU) for ZKSI3, can I flash just the INU CSC for it?

Any opinions on Titanium?

Again, will OTA require that CSC=INU?

Another 3 gripes (might not be related to this thread, exactly), but here goes :-

1. They call these smartphones, but basic features which "dumb" phones can do like recording calls (voice) & FM recording, these so-called smartphones cannot do. Do we always require additional apps for such things?

2. (i) While playing music with the stock music player, there's no option to turn on Sound Effects in Bluetooth mode.(ii) We have a big screen, but sorry, folks, it can't display the lyrics embedded into my MP3. This is irritating. Where can I whine about it on Google? Or do we again have to download additional apps for these features?

3. Voice talk is enabled only when my packet data is enabled. Why's that? I mean, I just want to dictate a memo to myself, and yet, I need a data connection?

What's your take on the above?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Well.. Voice talk personally I feel is out my league.. I never tried it.. Moreover I kinda think its waste of time talking to phone..

CSC helps the Kies to check for firmwares as per the region.. If you have advanced firmware and you're on INU CSC it wont do any good.. Cuz you being already on top with latest release 2.3.5. In India it's still 2.3.3. To answer your question you can mix and match firware and CSCs and flash.

With music and audio; I'd advise to try players from Market. Not the stock one.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mnongkhlaw:
No, might be useful while driving. Anyway, does tapping work in your phone?

Any suggestions for voice call recording, music (with lyrics display), FM recording?

Old checkout

---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 PM ----------

pls ignore that was a typo
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Voice Tap

I understand. I'm on it and I'll let you know if the double tap is working for me in couple of hours.

Market Gentleman.. Market..!:) You have variety of Apps in Market which are far more intelligent that Stock Apps!

Cheers!

A.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arunk.chowdhary:
Voice Talk!

Here is what I tried..

I first launched Voice Talk and went into settings and then enabled double tap. While exiting out of settings something caught my attention, "awake Voice Talk when Bluetooth device is paired or connected" (something like that). I didn't do anything with that option but I thought it might make some difference to you.

Now.. I exited out of the Voice Talk completely and double tapped on my phone to see if that brings Voice Talk. It didn't.

I launched Voice Talk again and I double tapped. It asked me for voice commands.

To differentiate, I closed and re-launched app and then tried some voice commands without double tapping or saying "Hi Galaxy". It didn't take them. Then I double tapped, it was ready for my commands and started following them.

My interpretation is, launching Voice Talk is a manual process. Once it's launched, to make it follow or process your voice commands, you either double tap or say "Hi Galaxy"..

Remember the option I mentioned before.. "Awake when Bluetooth device paired".. My guess is, when you have this option enabled and you pair a Bluetooth headset with your phone.. It should launch Voice Talk app automatically and to make it follow your commands you either double tap or say "Hi Galaxy"!

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

A.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] daddybox69:
With respect to the battery, the Samsung LTE has a 1850 mah battery which is similar in size to 1650 mah battery in the S2.... even though these phones are different I checked with a friend in England who also has an S2 and says they can be swapped. Otherwise .....i agree with the first response....charge it every night buddy!! Discipline is the key!!
[EVO 4G General] tropicalbrit:
Title says it all... vote! I personally am waiting. My upgrade is for a while.
[EVO 4G General] Omgadroid:
Noni lovee

My evo
[EVO 4G General] 2k4mach:
sadly i think ill be downgrading to the thunderbolt. i picked 1 up on the 6th so i could get unlimited data and unless sprint gets there network fixed by the 20th ill be returning my 3d and view and canceling my other 2 lines. i just cant deal with this 28k data network and there continued broken dates of when it will be resolved.
[EVO 4G General] dsf3g:
I'll be upgrading to whatever the cool new phone is hot in 22 months, LOL! Hopefully it will include teleportation and a built-in 3D printer.
[EVO 4G General] LCL22:
keeping my evo 4g for the time being, sprint upgrade isnt due till almost a year from now for me, hopefully HTC will stop being douches by then , if not im jumping ship to another phone make, probably one of those galaxy phones all i know is this latest gingerbread release/fiasco has me really wary about htc now...i hate my evo 4g until i can remove this GB 2.3 pos from it
[EVO 4G General] Txsrooster:
i will never own another Samsung..have had three and they all were POS's.

Hoping something comes out by Oct that is catches my eye.
[EVO 4G General] patrick0823:
Im hoping the blast will become a fone and come to Sprint it seems more like a proper evo 2 than the 3d
[EVO 4G General] tbgreen89:
Im moving to California in a couple weeks and am curious too see how sprints 4g does cause i dont have it here in New Mexico. If i dont like it i may end up switching to T-mobile. I am in love with the Sensation! But it all depends on speeds right now and network quality.
[EVO 4G General] dsotm82:
Galaxy SII probably
[EVO 4G General] nkusen:
I'll stick with the EVO 4G for a long time, until my contract expires next winter.
[EVO 4G General] Chronzy:
Forgoing the gimmicky 3D for the sexy curves of the Sensation. Just waiting for it to be permanently rooted... any day now.
[EVO 4G General] Android 17:
More than likely waiting for the Nexus Prime if it's released on Sprint.
[EVO 4G General] Juls317:
probably the Galaxy S II
[EVO 4G General] MaxCarnage:
I'm getting an iPhone if they come to Sprint this Fall. Yes, haters, bring it on. :cool:
[EVO 4G General] firket2000:
I'm waiting for the nexus prime as well
[EVO 4G General] NCHEVYHEVN:
Waiting for a decent WP7 device to come to Sprint.
[EVO 4G General] IceCreaMan:
i have no idea, I was certain I was going to upgrade to the evo3d but I wasn't that impressed and got a xoom wifi tablet.

I will probably just keel the evolution until next year
[EVO 4G General] blu3poptart:
I'm waiting for the nexus prime as well. Hooray for ice cream sandwich! :P
[EVO 4G General] sactownbwoy:
I just upgraded to the Nexus s 4g. I love this thing, all my future Android phones will be Nexus phones. Just wish Sprint had 4g in San Diego and Twentynine Palms
[EVO 4G General] cesjr02:
Well, I would have put my vote toward the Galaxy S II. But when will it ever come Sate side is anyone's guess. Technology moves fast and every day I wait for the GSII is a day closer that something better will come out.

At this point I want to wait for the Nexus 3(Prime). I like the rumored specs, ice cream, and the fact that it will be a developer phone.
[EVO 4G General] fierceeagle2003:
Why upgrade ?? Already have the best phone in the world
[EVO 4G General] atapia984:
I can't wait to see what the next Nexus will look like, and that it will, hopefully, be on Sprint's network.
[EVO 4G General] github:
I'll get the next Nexus line, even if I have to change carriers. Tired of dealing with locked down phones (and unlock promises) and non-open software on top of beautiful Android.

But this is just what I prefer. To each his own. :cool:
[EVO 4G General] Khilbron:
Still got a year to go before I get my full upgrade, we will see what is out by then.
[EVO 4G General] angrymanhands:
Waiting for the next nexus.
[EVO 4G General] packattack12:
waiting until october prolly to see if sprint gets the iphone, if not I was gonna go with the SG2, but this new nexus looks pretty sweet. I could have upgraded since January 1st (Sprint effed up my upgrade date and lovin it). I'm still liking my evo a lot, just waiting for something better.
[EVO 4G General] Blitzpwnage:
Same here! I am really hoping they bring the iPhone 5 to sprint.
[EVO 4G General] jamiejayhawk:
I love my EVO, I'm for sure skipping the 3d. I've read some rumors of a true EVO 2 coming to Sprint. My update isn't for another 8 months. Oh one thing I am sure of... I will NOT own any Samsung phones. Crappy...
[EVO 4G General] Juls317:
why is everyone hating on sanding? I have a vibrant 4g and love it. no problems at all
[EVO 4G General] m4rk0358:
Sanding sucks!!!
[EVO 4G General] Juls317:
sorry, auto-correct but I think you got the point. and you still have provided no justifiable reasoning
[EVO 4G General] Dj21o:
Not an Android, WP7 all the way!!!!
[EVO 4G General] mbaseball3:
Not until a true Evo2 comes out. Basically a real upgrade like hero to Evo style.

Sent from the Evo
[EVO 4G General] teejay89:
I'm with everyone that's waiting on the next Nexus. I run AOSP on my Evo and I love pure Android too much to ever have to wait on it for another phone.
[EVO 4G General] Dj21o:
Its ok to be jealous. :)
[EVO 4G General] LexLuger82:
Jealous of a fake spoof apple os? Please
[EVO 4G General] Dj21o:
Lol. I used to be all about Android too. I've had 3 devices that have worked ok, but once I messed around with WP7 I knew it was better. Sure, you can't have free games and apps, but you DEFINITELY get quality. Check out some videos on YouTube before you judge, because Android looks more like Apple compared to that OS.

And not to be favoring any OS, but all Androids look the same now. You can get a brand new Android phone, and it still runs like ****. Until you get a dual core processor or you barebones your system, your responsiveness will go down the drain.

And I'm not saying WP7 doesn't look the same (because it does), but what other company ships out 500+ updates in the next release of a phone? Not to mention the OS is easily 10 times smoother, easier to use, better notification system, and it doesn't die in 10 hours with barely any use. I literally have watched tons of videos, played with the phones, and even wrote down the pros and cons of WP7 and Android. For what I need my phone for, WP7 blew it out of the water.

So don't say it sucks, because it is far from that.
[EVO 4G General] LCL22:
to what android phone?

any good one that comes out next year, as long as its NOT htc, i refuse to upgrade to a 3d watching this gingerbread fiasco and since they insist that they "cant downgrade" your phone , then i will downgrade their income by never buying an htc phone again, the 3d is an overhyped pos that most seem to be avoiding right now, as will i , and ill be sure to let sprint know too
[EVO 4G General] jingleracing:
Anyone that can beat the EVO right now its the best.
[EVO 4G General] Dj21o:
The evo has a big screen. That is it. IMO. The processor is complete ****, no matter what launcher you prefer. Even with bare bones it is still slow.

Windows has immaculate speed and responsiveness. I guarantee if you use one for a week you will fall in love, as did I. And I have had android since the Hero with 1.5. I've also had an Epic, and now the Evo. :(
[EVO 4G General] philthy_ritch:
HTC Evo View and a pre-paid dumb phone.
[EVO 4G General] Omgadroid:
Your grasping at straws bit to each there own and p.s. have fun dealing with a company that it evil in so so many ways
[EVO 4G General] Dj21o:
You have great English and punctuation. It really shows your intelligence level.

Anyways, you know they are getting somewhere when people are trolling over a stupid operating system.