[Samsung Galaxy W I8150] keithross39:
Hi all, this thread has been written for the first time modifier who is adventurous enough to want to get the best from their phone, but who is unsure how to proceed.

It has been designed to be easy to understand and be as user friendly as possible.

Before I go any further, it's only fair to state that I am NOT the original author/developer for any of the processes, methods or software contained herein, I will try to give credit where it is due.

Please be aware that these instructions are Galaxy Wonder SPECIFIC, I DO NOT KNOW if they will work on any of the other variants of this phone.

It should be noted that any modifications performed on your phone carry an element of risk. The responsibility for this risk lies with YOU as it is YOU who are CHOOSING to follow these instructions. Neither I nor anybody else mentioned in this post will accept ANY responsibility if you damage your phone by following the instructions detailed below.

Also note that by following these instructions, you WILL be voiding your warranty.....

All the processes detailed below are possible WITHOUT the use of a PC. there is an alternative method for all the processes that uses a PC and a software package called ODIN. People will argue in favour of one method or the other.....My preference is to do everything "in phone" without ODIN.

Before you start any of the listed processes check to see that you have AT LEAST 50% remaining battery power. I'd personally recommend that you fully charge your phone before you start.

Finally, if it is your intention to install a custom ROM, it is necessary to follow EVERY procedure listed IN THE ORDER listed. Failure to do so WILL lead to damaging your phone.....you have been warned.....

Step 1) Rooting

When you Root your phone, you are giving yourself "administrator" rights to your device. you CANNOT move on to the other steps unless you've Rooted your phone.

Please see the thread below (created by [MENTION=1679027]THE E[/MENTION] ) that details a step by step guide (with resources) for rooting your phone.

Here is an alternate link for the update zip.......

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347838294

I have, since compiling these instructions, begun to read that the method below, WILL work for Android version 2.3.5, but MAY NOT work with Android version 2.3.6. To find out which Android version you are using, tap...

Settings>> about phone/device>>Android version.

If you find you have 2.3.6 try the method anyway...it won't damage your phone, it just won't work (if these reports are accurate). I am trying to get clarification from the developer on this, so please bear with me......

If it doesn't work, please leave a comment at the end of this thread and/or the below linked thread......

(Edit...this has been confirmed working on at least two 2.3.6 devices....thanks for the feedback [MENTION=272973]azim[/MENTION] and [MENTION=5203184]WonderTester[/MENTION] )

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1317394

The first method detailed in the link is the easiest. You will find the "update zip" file in "downloads". It needs to be moved (copied and pasted) from downloads so that it is NOT inside ANY folder but is still in your internal phone memory (root directory).

More confident users may want to make a backup of their 'stock' recovery before installing CWM. this backup will be useful if you've rooted your phone and installed CWM, but haven't installed a custom ROM..... and then discover a need to send the phone in for repair. This post by [MENTION=4515182]elchi1234[/MENTION] will tell you how to do it......

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=46433083

Step 2) installing ClockworkMod

ClockworkMod (CWM) is an advanced piece of software that replaces the pre installed recovery partition on your phone. It allows you to (amongst other things) make NANDROID backups (I will cover this later), factory wipe your phone and install CUSTOM ROMs. the method quoted below was provided to me by [MENTION=4563056]IvanKurnia[/MENTION] . You need to install TERMINAL EMULATOR and BUSYBOX (available in the Play Store) in order for this method to work.....

THESE STEPS NEED ROOT & BUSYBOX, BUT DON'T NEED A PC & ODIN..

FOR BEST RESULTS, UPDATE YOUR SUPERUSER.APK, SU BINARY, AND BUSYBOX

Open one of these links (courtesy of [MENTION=3044346]arco68[/MENTION] )..

CWM 6.0.1.2

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347838291

CWM 6.0.4.4

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347838292

CWM 6.0.4.5

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347838293

-download and extract (unzip) the file from your chosen link.

-put the recovery.img file in /mnt/sdcard (internal phone storage. NOT external SD card)

-download "Terminal Emulator" (by Jack) from the Play Store

-open Terminal Emulator then type "su" and click enter

-allow root access..

-then type "dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p13"

(the su and dd if=/.....text needs to be entered without the " " quote marks)

then click enter

(the 0 in mmcblk0p13 is the number NOT the letter).

-then some text will appear at the bottom of the Terminal Emulator panel.

-exit terminal emulator.. check the recovery by turning off the device then turn on with volume up button, home button, and power button pressed together.. until "Galaxy W" screen shows up, release the power button only.. then you will enter CWM

-navigate with up (up) and down (down) vol buttons and home keys (select) and power (back) and click "reboot system now" to reboot

The above method has a proven track record for successful implementation.

There is an alternative method of installing a recovery (created by [MENTION=4770485]pepoluan[/MENTION]) which bypasses the need to type code into terminal emulator. See this thread for details.......

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2113946

There is an alternative custom recovery for the Wonder called TWRP.....it has one major advantage over CWM in that it is a 'touch' recovery....you touch the screen rather than relying on pressing buttons to use it. Please see this thread........

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2046035

for download and flashing instructions.

Step 3) preparing your phone for CUSTOM ROMs.

When you flash (install) a CUSTOM ROM on your phone, it is necessary to wipe everything (including original Android OS, Apps, SMS messages, call records, contacts etc) from your phone before hand. If you need these on your phone after ROM installation, you have to make copies of them first.

To copy the OS, you will need to create a NANDROID BACKUP....You might ask why this is necessary...simple...If you (for some reason) want/need to go back to the factory installed software, the NANDROID BACKUP is the easiest way to do so.

In order to create it, you need to reboot into recovery (switch the phone off, then switch back on while pressing the power, home and volume up keys, then releasing ONLY the power button when the SAMSUNG logo appears) Use the volume down button to scroll to "backup and restore" and use the home button to select, then on the next screen, select backup.

You will need 800mb or more of free memory to create this backup....any less and it won't complete.

When done, reboot your phone and use your file browser to search for a file called ClockworkMod. If you find it on your external SD card you don't need to do a thing, If you find it in internal storage, you need to "zip" it (minimal compression) and move it to your external SD card, otherwise it'll be deleted during the wipe process prior to installing your custom rom.

It is advisable to create a Nandroid backup not only before flashing your very first ROM, but also before you upgrade from an older version of your chosen ROM to a newer version (eg CM10 a2 to CM10 a4.1) that way you ALWAYS have a functioning copy of a working setup that you can go back to if something goes wrong.......

To backup your Apps, you'll need to download APPBAK from the play store.

To backup your SMSs, you'll need to download SMS BACKUP AND RESTORE from the play store.

To backup your call logs, you'll need to download CALL LOGS BACKUP AND RESTORE from the play store.

Open each app in turn and use it to create backup files for everything you want to restore. As before, if these files are stored on internal storage, move them to your external SD card to prevent deletion.

CAUTION.....DO NOT attempt to back up app user data (high scores, game progress etc) this data MUST NOT be re installed when you re install your apps.

To create a backup of your contacts, you need to go to your contacts on your phone, press the menu button, select import/export then select export to SD card to create a backup file...again, check for file location and move if necessary.

Make a note of WHERE the backup files are located before you move them. It will probably be a good idea to return them to their original location once you have installed your new ROM. That way when you use the apps to restore your data, the apps will be able to find their respective backup files.

You are now ready to install your CUSTOM ROM.

Step 4) CUSTOM ROM installation

Below is a list of CUSTOM ROMs that will install through CWM.

In this section, you'll see several references to GAPPS. This is an acronym for Google APPS which is a package that contains Google related software such as Play Store etc. Without it, you won't be able to access any of the Google services.

CM9-based ROM (Icecream Sandwich 4.0.4)

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CM-10 based ROM (jellybean 4.1.2)

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CM-10.1 based ROM (jellybean 4.2.2)

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mirrors for Arco's ROMs

These ROM/GApps packages will be downloaded as zips which need to be extracted so that you have a ROM zip and a GApps zip.

DO NOT extract these zips as this is the format that is needed to flash the packages in CWM. You will need to download 7zipper 2.0 from the playstore in order to extract the files.

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Some members have requested the ability to use their removable micro SD cards as an alternative to the phones built in storage. on CM-9 this facility is built in. on CM-10 and CM-10.1, it is not. Normally, to achieve this, the ROM would have to be modified after installation. Some members (myself included) are uncomfortable when it comes to modifying code. With that in mind a forum member called [MENTION=3830629]temenalie[/MENTION] has taken the latest builds of Arco68's CM-10 and CM-10.1 and modified the code so that the storage mount swap takes place DURING the installation, so that the end user doesn't have to do it 'post install'

Arco68's CM-10 Final (JB 4.1.2)

http://www.mediafire.com/?2qbmgw8bdwbf3am

Arco68's CM-10.1 Alpha 7 (JB 4.2.2)

http://www.mediafire.com/?3l7lh438f3xofql

Edit (20/10/15) the above two links are non functional, I am trying to re-source these ROM's and hope to be able to make them available again in the near future.

These ROMs should ONLY be used if there is an external SD card present in the phone that you want to use as phone storage.

ROMs courtesy of [MENTION=3044346]arco68[/MENTION] , modifications courtesy of [MENTION=3830629]temenalie[/MENTION].

Each of the above links opens the home page for that specific ROM. Most will have installation instructions on the first page. ALL instructions MUST be followed EXACTLY to avoid damaging your phone. some will have a separate "GAPPS" file which needs to be installed as well as the ROM.

Unless otherwise stated in the instructions for the individual ROMs, the method detailed below can be used to install all the ROMs from the links above. You MUST read all the instructions for your chosen ROM in case there are any differences in the installation methods.

-1) download the ROM and GAPPS (if Needed) to your phone/SD card

-2) switch off then reboot your phone into recovery

-3) create your NANDROID BACKUP (if you haven't already done so)

-4) scroll to and select "wipe cache partition"

-5) scroll to and select "advanced" then scroll to and select "wipe dalvik cache"

-6) this is the point of NO RETURN. press the back button then scroll to and select "wipe data/factory reset"

-7) scroll to and select "install zip from sdcard" then "choose zip from sdcard" or "choose zip from external sdcard" depending on where you downloaded the ROM and GAPPS files. you MUST install the ROM FIRST followed by GAPPS (if necessary/not included in the ROM)

-8) press the back button until you see "advanced", select it then select "fix Permissions" (if necessary) then scroll to and select "wipe battery stats"

-9) press the back button and select "reboot system now"

A more in depth "pristine" wipe method can be read about in the article below created by [MENTION=4770485]pepoluan[/MENTION] ....

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2044861

It can be used to replace the steps from step 4 above. Although it isn't necessary to complete this "pristine" wipe unless you were having problems with your "stock" ROM, or, after flashing your new custom ROM, you discover you have problems with that ROM and the only option is to do a complete wipe and re install.

Wait for your phone to boot up. You'll have to set up your phone again like you did when you purchased it and you'll have to sign into your Google account again in order to use the Play Store. Once the setup is complete, download APPBAK, SMS and CALL LOG BACKUP AND RESTORE, and restore your saved backups....

CAUTION......DO NOT restore user data generated by your apps. This will cause instability in your apps and make them force close.....

To restore your contacts, you need to open the newly installed (included in ROM) People app, press the menu button, select import/ export and then import from storage.

.you have now completed the process of modifying your phone.....congratulations and enjoy.....

On step 8 of the installation process, I mentioned 'wiping battery stats'. This is NOT something that is crucial to ROM installation, but it IS something that needs to be done after EVERY new installation. The reason being that your phone will calibrate your battery to your current ROM. When you install a new ROM, it'll have different battery usage patterns. If you don't get rid of the old battery data, you could experience some 'irregularities' in what the phone sees as the percentage of battery use compared to the actual battery use. Once this data has been wiped, you'll need to complete 3 or 4 full charge - full discharge cycles in order to calibrate the battery to the new ROM.....

One final point, none of the above would have been possible without the hard work of developers like [MENTION=3044346]arco68[/MENTION] and the countless others who have given their time so that we can get the best from our phones.........

(All information correct and up to date at time of post creation)

if you liked this post, or it has helped you in any way, please hit thanks

thankyou for reading.....happy flashing