[Galaxy S II General] AMDPOWERFIST:
My extensive “Tips & Tricks” guide to:

•	Installing a new ROM

•	Installing a new Kernel

•	Achieving the best battery life as possible

Installing a new ROM

ZIP file Corruption issues?

When installing a new ROM it is important to make sure that when you copy the .zip file over (for a CWM installation) that the file copies correctly. One of the major causes of issues with massive 100-200meg ROM zip files is corruption when copying the file across. The best way to eliminate this is to:

1)	Boot into CWM (vol up + menu + power)

2)	Go to “Mounts & Storage”

3)	Go to “Mount USB Storage”

4)	Copy the files onto your “Internal SDcard”

5)	Use the windows “safely remove usb device” function

6)	Go to unmount on the phone

This method safely ensures that the file has copied over as corruption free as possible. If the .zip file is still corrupt, this could be an issue with either A) the zip file thats online, so check the forums from the creator to see if there has been any excess reports of people having a similar issue or B) re-download the file using a PC (if you originally downloaded it OTA (over the air – on the phone via WIFI or 3G) as there is a greater chance of a .zip file of such large quantity being corrupted OTA rather than through a PC download.

How to eliminate any residual files during a full-wipe ROM installation?

Once the .zip file is located on the Internal SDcard, enter CWM:

1)	Boot into CWM (vol up + menu + power)

2)	Wipe Data/factory reset (main menu)

3)	Wipe Cache (main menu)

4)	main menu > advanced menu > Wipe Davlik

5)	main menu > advanced menu > Reboot Recovery

6)	Install ZIP from sdcard > Choose ZIP from sdcard > XXX.zip

7)	Wipe Cache (main menu)

8)	main menu > advanced menu > Wipe Davlik

This may or may not be unnecessary – it all depends on how each individual ROM is designed, created and how many customisations are made to it. This takes only 30 seconds extra, and could save you a vast amount of time after booting into the new ROM and finding out that there are residual (left over) files from any previous ROMs that can be conflicting or causing force closes.

Installing a new Kernel

1)	Boot into CWM (vol up + menu + power)

2)	Wipe Cache (main menu)

3)	main menu > advanced menu > Wipe Davlik

4)	main menu > advanced menu > Reboot Recovery

5)	Install ZIP from sdcard > Choose ZIP from sdcard > XXX.zip

6)	Wipe Cache (main menu)

7)	main menu > advanced menu > Wipe Davlik

This too, may or may not be unnecessary – but at the cost of 3 seconds of your time, can result in a smoother installation and transition from Kernel to Kernel, even if it is the same Kernel or a new updated version.

Achieving the best battery life as possible

Batteries on any android device are a tricky thing to master to maximise. The selection of the ideal ROM and Kernel plays a vital role in determining how the phone itself will function both visually and behind the scenes. To maximise your battery, you should choose a slimmed down ROM and Kernel combination that has removed as many default Samsung bloat ware applications and system functions as possible, but retaining as much functionality as possible. E.g. not removing such things like the camera or wifi drivers etc etc etc

After installing a new ROM or Kernel or even on an existing ROM/Kernel combination there are certain things a person can do to help improve battery life, these include:

•	Monitoring the battery

•	Freezing unnecessary applications / system processes

•	Removing applications from startup

•	Ensuring applications are efficiently accessing the internet only when required

•	Underclocking & Undervolting

•	Other tips and tricks (must read)

Monitoring the battery

Monitoring the battery is very simple, and only a few applications are required. I personally use 3 in particular. These include:

1)	“Better Battery Stats”- (Paid version) – This can help to determine what applications or processes or even kernel functions are waking the phone from a deep sleep via a “partial wakelock” or “kernel wakelock” – and to help you eliminate these to effectively achieve a higher deep sleep so your phone is no longer using battery when the screen is turned off.

a.	This application can be found here: https://market.android.com/details?...sImNvbS5hc2tzdmVuLmJldHRlcmJhdHRlcnlzdGF0cyJd

2)	“CPU Spy” – This application helps to show what state the phone has been in, to help show you visually why your battery has been draining. It ranges from “Deep Sleep” / 200mhz / 500mhz / 800mhz / 1000mhz and 1200mhz states giving both a “time in” each state and a total % of the whole.

a.	This application can be found here: https://market.android.com/details?...251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5idmFsb3Nlay5jcHVzcHkiXQ..

3)	Battery Monitor Widget - (Free and Pro versions) - What this app does, is actually meausre the VOLTAGES in the battery itself, and shows you a mah/pHr output via a widget and can also calibrate its own statistics based on precise measurements from when it is drained to charged. It also has the ability to calibrate the battery, and shows the “draw” voltages history timeline to help better understand and follow where your power is going based on timestamps. I am not sure how "accurate" these readings actually are, but they seem to be fairly good. You can create battery profiles (for people who swap out batteries often OR want to test multiple types of batteries from ebay or wherever.)

a.	Free Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...ch_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNjYzcxLmJtdyJd

b.	Pro/Paid Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...ult#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNjYzcxLmJtdy5wcm8iXQ

Freezing unnecessary applications / system processes

The freezing of applications that you no longer wish to use can be vital to increasing battery life. Freezing over Uninstalling also allows for a better “User Error” as such, if you FREEZE a particular application and you later find out that you either wanted that app or needed that app for another app to work, you can go back in and UNFREEZE rather than having to relocate and reinstall this app. All of this can be done with the most vital tool that any ROOT user should have in their app repertoire – Titanium Backup – Located here:

A)	Free Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...DEsImNvbS5rZXJhbWlkYXMuVGl0YW5pdW1CYWNrdXAiXQ..

B)	Pro/Paid Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...mNvbS5rZXJhbWlkYXMuVGl0YW5pdW1CYWNrdXBQcm8iXQ..

The Pro/Paid version is well worth the funds, and can save you hours of time by backing up applications before any ROM and KERNEL installation to prevent loss of vital information and data settings for all of your applications. It also has the above mentioned FREEZE app function which I will run you through now.

To FREEZE an application:

1)	Open Titanium Backup

2)	Tap “Backup/Restore tab at the top of the screen. This will show all of the applications you have installed on your phone. RED apps are SYSTEM apps, and WHITE apps are USER apps. This is vital to remember, as SYSTEM apps “CAN” cause faults in the ROM and cause force closes if a particular app is required for another to work.

3)	Scroll up and down to find the applications you wish to FREEZE – then tap that application and push FREEZE (middle centre)

4)	To UNFREEZE an app, repeat the process and tap UNFREEZE

ADDED: 22/11/2011 – Complete list of SYSTEM applications that CAN and CANT be frozen or removed.

Here is a compiled list of almost every SYSTEM application that another member on the forums called Yeyka (a.k.a. Angus) has compiled and i have updated and added to. Please be extremely careful with ones that have an AQUA CAUTION beside them, as they can cause massive problems if frozen or uninstalled by mistake.

List1

List 2

List 3

List 4

Original Source: Veyka

Link here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...1gdDJRekl4QmkyNmIzUmRvX2h3UDVkQXc&output=html

Although my list is substantially long, and not all ROMS will have everyone of these or the NUMBERING version of each application will be different for everyone, the applications are still the same, just the version number is different.

PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS WHEN FREEZING APPLCATIONS – ESPECIALLY THE TWLAUNCHER ONES, NOT FOR NOVICES.

Some people have asked why I freeze applications like Videos / Music / My Files / Samsung Keyboard / Swype etc – The reasons are, I have alternate apps for music, videos, file exploring and keyboards etc – Which are all USER applications and easier to transfer between ROM to ROM rather than SYSTEM apps which can be difficult to backup and move from ROM to ROM. The more you can get away from using the stock Samsung applications the better and easier the transition from ROM to ROM will be – and the settings you use will also be kept.

Removing applications from startup

Another useful and extremely handy application is “Startup Manager” app. Using this application, you can choose which USER and SYSTEM apps you wish to be prevented from opening on startup. This is handy for 2 reasons.

1)	Allows for faster boot times

2)	Gives the user better control over which applications open by themselves and therefore conserving more battery by not having them all open on startup.

a.	Free Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsImltb2JsaWZlLnN0YXJ0dXBtYW5hZ2VyIl0.

b.	Pro/Paid Version here: https://market.android.com/details?...DEsImltb2JsaWZlLnN0YXJ0dXBtYW5hZ2VyLmZ1bGwiXQ..

Ensuring applications are efficiently accessing the internet only when required

There is 2 ways to do this:

1)	Open each application you believe that uses any kind of internet connectivity and check that they are either disabled or set within an acceptable range for the users preference e.g. Facebook application > Notifications > polling every X minutes OR X hours

2)	Use an application to help do this for you. Such an application as “Juice Defender” – This application is designed for people who have a heavy amount of applications on their phones that access the internet regularly. It disables all connectivity to the phone upon “Screen Off” and only reenables these connections when the screen is turned on. There are other settings but this is the overall concept behind it. There are 3 main versions:

a.	Free : https://market.android.com/details?id=com.latedroid.juicedefender&feature=search_result

b.	Plus: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.latedroid.juicedefender.plus&feature=search_result

c.	Ultimate: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.latedroid.ultimatejuice&feature=search_result

The names are appropriate to the level of functionality included in each. Free gives basic level of control, Plus gives a little bit more and Ultimate gives you the most control and functionality for maximum battery conservation.

Underclocking & Undervolting

Specific Kernels allow the user to control the speeds of their processors and the voltages at which it can run. Some of these Kernels include: Siyah & SpeedMod and many more (others I have not tested myself) Some Kernels do this via scripting methods built into the Kernel itself and others allow the user to control these via 3rd Party applications such as:

A)	SetCPU – allows frequency / voltage control (only if the Kernel is supported): https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5taHVhbmcub3ZlcmNsb2NraW5nIl0.

B)	Voltage Control – very similar to SetCPU but with alot more advanced settings: https://market.android.com/details?...xLDEsImNvbS5kYXJla3hhbi52b2x0YWdlY29udHJvbCJd

Other Tips and Tricks

This is the part where I tell you a few other tips and tricks that I have learnt over the past 2-3 years of using Android based phones and tablets which will help to dramatically increase battery life while also giving the user a better knowledge base from which to give them the tools to possibly explore even better ways of maximising their batteries.

A)	Turning off EVERYTHING – applications that you are not using so that your phone has better “Deep Sleep”. This can be done through a number of applications that give quick, easy, 1 press access to things such as Wifi / 3G / Bluetooth / GPS / Auto Sync / Air Plane Mode / Screen Brightness / Volume (silent / Vibrate and Sound) / Auto Rotation etc. This can be done through a number of ways.

a.	Certain themes like J-Kays http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1154278 which allows the user to customise their Status bar and power button menus.

b.	Applications like Switch Pro https://market.android.com/details?id=alei.switchpro&feature=search_result which you can add and customise widgets on your home screen and many more

c. ADDED: 22/11/2011 - ADVANCED SYSTEM AUTO START UP CONTROL

Do you have an issue with applications automatically starting all the time? Have you disabled notifications and refresh times, but the app still seems to open itself and run in the background? e.g. Facebook app. I have disabled the application from auto syncing, however BetterBatteryStats still says that it runs in the background causing partial wakelocks... Well I have found the answer an app called "AUTORUN MANAGER" which can help.

This application gives the user almost complete control over which applications start by themselves, and the services that run in the background. By disabling each applications ability to AUTOLOAD this can help save battery life, and prevent apps from still accessing the internet, even when you have turned off the service.

The application comes with SIMPLE and ADVANCED modes. Root access is required. Simply open the application, tap on the application name that you wish to stop from running in the background, and disable the appropriate services.

This application also has the ability to stop SYSTEM applications from AUTOLOADING and running in the background. BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS WHEN DEALING WITH SYSTEM APPS.

Links Provided:

Free:

https://market.android.com/details?...lt#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5ycy5hdXRvcnVuIl0.

Pro / Paid:

https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5ycy5hdXRvcnVuLnBybyJd

B)	Task killers – this is a very touchy subject and many people believe the phone does not require a task killer. With this i totally agree, however, there are certain circumstances when a having a task killer installed may be useful. This is when the designers of certain apps create them with memory leaks and sometimes they don’t close effectively and efficiently from the internal Android OS task killer which is built into most ROMs.

Example: a big graphical game, may have an error, rather than exiting out of the program upon closing of the game, it sits in the background awaiting you to return to it (which a lot of games do, as they may record high scores, achievements etc) and will not close unless the user specifies an “Exit” type function built into the game. Some of these apps and games may sit in the background for minutes or even hours before the task killer can and will do anything about these. A little nudge from the user can be the difference in a substantial battery % loss and gain depending on the user’s ability to identify, and kill specific tasks at will.

Some task killers have widgets which can run silently on the home screen and give you quick 1 touch application killing functions quick and easily. HOWEVER – killing all application processes is not a good thing to do, and will most likely result in a great deal of battery drain, as the system WILL reboot most of these apps and will take more battery power than leaving them running in the background.

C)	Using black or dark themes – the screen on the S2 especially is the biggest battery drainer there is. The darker the themes and backgrounds the better the battery saving you will achieve. It is a well known fact that anything bright from a device with such a large screen will generate a greater level of power draw needed to display these on the screen.

D)	Default phone settings such as:

a.	Fast Dormancy (*#9900 in keypad) disabled or enabled can cause better battery drain.

b.	SETTINGS > WIRELESS > MOBILE NETWORKS > NETWORK MODE > WCDMA ONLY – can cause the phone to not keep switching 3G modes so rapidly and achieve faster internet speeds with greater battery life

c.	SETTINGS > WIRELESS > WIFI-SETTINGS > (menu button > ADVANCED) > WI-FI sleep policy > Never when Plugged in – can switches off WiFi when the phone isn’t plugged in and the screen is turned OFF

d.	SETTINGS > LOCATION AND SECURITY > USE WIRELESS NETWORKS (off) – this sends constant location based information to and from google (or so ive read) – it is unnescceary to have it on all the time, unless you are using GPS / Google maps or other location based applications – however may also result in the marketplace not constantly updating in the background.

e. ADDED: 21/11/2011 - DISABLING GOOGLE BACKGROUND SYNC

After reading through some better battery stats partial wake locks, and doing some online research. It appears that Google will send and receive information to its SYNC server if the following setting is enabled:

SETTINGS > PRIVACY > BACK UP MY DATA

So you will want to DISABLE this.

f. ADDED: 21/11/2011 - DISABLING GOOGLE BACKGROUND SYNC

Disable both:

MARKET > SETTINGS > NOTIFICATIONS

&

MARKET > SETTINGS > GOOGLE ADMOB ADS

This will disable the background service where market place continues to poll the google servers for information about new application versions that are out, and the current versions you have installed. Will help with GTALK_ASYNC_CONN partial wakelock but will NOT solve it entirely.

I hope this guide has helped, and I’m sure that more things will add or edited with time. But if this guide has helped in any way to solve your queries please click “Thanks” button below, and enjoy your better understanding of how your phone works from my point of view.

Cheers