yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Motorola Photon 4G] CaliMark1:
I've been fooling around with the new Google Maps on this ROM and have found that it crashes alot! Anyone else having better luck? If so, tips tricks or ideas!? I was thinking of downgrading to CM10 which seemed more stable (bluetooth back) do I still get most of the benefits of Google Now I can't remember if there were certain things that were added for 4.2.1? In the same vain what are the success with Google Hangouts? Google Talk (video chat) was working pretty good before they switched to Google Hangouts App! Its funny that Skype works great for me on this ROM but not a Google App...I'll update if I get some time to downgrade and see if I have better luck with Maps & Hangouts...

CaliMark

Mark Reed
[Motorola Photon 4G] ganeshshas:
In CM10 also maps force closing..... :(
[Motorola Photon 4G] CaliMark1:
Suck...I had gotten used to using their navigation but it closes soon after starting too....Guess back to TeleNav, anyone know why their new Scout app says it isn't supported by my carrier in google play store?

CaliMark
[Motorola Photon 4G] bob001:
Would this work on MB855 from Sprint? Any suggestions how do i unlock the bootloader. I tried sunfire basic image and when try to reboot into recovery.. getting Triangle, exclamation and robot.

Please help.
[Motorola Photon 4G] FernBch:
If you are running 2.3.4 you can follow qbking77's instructions to unlock and flash this. If you are running 2.3.5 you cannot unlock.
[Motorola Photon 4G] bob001:
Appreciate your response.

In there any other way , I can use new Android version ?

like loading new android version on SD card and boot from there or something like that?

Please suggest.
[Motorola Photon 4G] killersiafu:
After clearing app data and cache, my maps / nav seems to be working better.
[Motorola Photon 4G] CaliMark1:
Are you using CM10 or 10.1? I did that also, and only worked better for a short time....maybe clear data and cache before any trip that I want to use their navigation?

Who knows...

CaliMark
[Motorola Photon 4G] bob001:
>>If you are running 2.3.4 you can follow qbking77's instructions to unlock and flash this. If you are running 2.3.5 you cannot unlock.

Appreciate your response.

In there any other way without unlocking, I can use new Android version ?

like loading new android version on SD card and boot from there or something like that?

Please suggest.
[Motorola Photon 4G] killersiafu:
Hm ya looks like you're right...seems to have been just a temporary fix
[Motorola Photon 4G] TechGuy77:
Correction: If you are using the upgraded from 2.3.4 to 2.3.5 you can't unlock. If you got your phone factory 2.3.5 you can unlock or least I was able to with my Electrify. You can always try to unlock it and if it does not then no harm as it won't soft/hard brick your phone. But as always proceed at your own risk!
[Motorola Photon 4G] pradeeppk:
I am also unlocked my electrify 2.3.5 recently
[Motorola Photon 4G] tsjoe2:
So are we gonna see 4.3 any time or did development stop on this divice

help me eat these damn cookies
[Motorola Photon 4G] FernBch:
Yes, it is true, the Electrify on 2.3.5 can be unlocked. The Photon however cannot be unlocked on 2.3.5.

There was a thread about dual boot or booting from SD but IIRC you need to be unlocked and flash a custom recovery in order to run JB on the Photon. Hence the need to be on 2.3.4.
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
I doubt it. Bill hasn't gotten 4.2.2 to work completely yet. Besides this phone is getting really long in the tooth. Without the Motorola drivers and source code for the ICS build, there will still be things that won't work properly. At this point, if I keep my phone after I upgrade, I'll just load the latest Android 4.2.2 build for wifi only use.

I am planning to upgrade soon to the Galaxy Note 3 when it comes out and saying good riddance to anything Motorola for the very near future. The Moto X doesn't impress me at all given its mid range specs and disappointed that Google couldn't swing for the fences.
[Motorola Photon 4G] edlee:
I still use the photon as my spare traveling device when overseas, I am hoping for an update as well.
[Motorola Photon 4G] TechGuy77:
I don't believe Motorola/Google were going after specs, they are going for an experience and more processor doesn't always equal a better experience as we all know. I've always had the greatest reception with Motorola phones. My last HTC had terrible reception! I don't like the feel of the Samsung S4, wish I could get the HTC One but USC does not carry it. So my last choice is the Moto X which they are getting. USC does not have a large selection. I know I have said I would not get another Motorola but I'd have to switch carriers and that is not an option. Oh well!
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
I doubt any update will ever happen. Bill probably stopped working on all CM Photon development. He hasn't made a post since like March.
[Motorola Photon 4G] ganeshshas:
Yes I think Photon it's out of Dev zone...

It seems all developers left the Photon development... :(:(:(:(:( so sad for users like us..
[Motorola Photon 4G] kingofnerds:
I keep waiting for another updated rom, but nothing comes. I don't have the time to do my own rom, but if I did, I might give it an attempt. I guess not having the drivers from motorola for the graphics and stuff is what finally caused developers to drop this device, they were hitting brick walls.
[Motorola Photon 4G] NishantM:
This is the main reason. Devs have already done the maximum they can.

I donated my Electrify to a not-so-geek friend after flashing the stock ROM and he's very happy with it. The phone really had a good potential.
[Motorola Photon 4G] SmartAceW0LF:
Known ROM Issues?

First, thanks guys for all of your incredible work on the Photon!

what are the known ROM issues?
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
It still would have been nice if Bill made an announcement that he is no longer working on Photon CM 10.1 ROM development instead of just going MIA. Who knows if Bill still has an account here. I mean no one is going to blame any of the devs for leaving since they are not getting paid for it. At least when jokersax left it was known that he was going to move to the LG Optimus G.
[Motorola Photon 4G] dustbuckets:
Amazon app store

Anyone else get force close after installing amazon app store?
[Motorola Photon 4G] wiltgen:
Seems like nothing has been done about keyboard gestures, right? This is the only thing I complain about this ROM... everything else is fantastic!

I have an HTC One with Sense (phenomenal) and the Photon is by company phone... lots of emails to type and gesture save a lot of time.

Any help is very well appreciated
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
Bill is not going to respond. He has gone MIA. My guess is that he moved on and no longer develops for the Photon. I don't even see any posts by Bill for several months.
[Motorola Photon 4G] carlosirai:
any other video-camara that works ? i dont like video ilusion cam
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Bill posted in one of the other photon forums. Photon has gotten as far as we can. He is working on lg optimus g. He has also been busy with family life for a while.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm going to update this soon. Been busy with family stuff that just took all my time. I have to re-set up my computer to build Android but will be starting to work on it this week. Hoping to update this as well as bring some other ROMs to the Photon soon.

Hope all is well
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
Bill, I am glad to hear that all is well with you. So does this mean that you will be working on providing ROM updates such as the BeanStalk ROM to the latest version which I believe is now Android 4.3 based? Are there plans to bring Android 4.4 onto the Photon?
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm going to give it a good try. I haven't worked on anything beyond 4.2.2 at this point, so I don't know what sort of fun I am in store for. First versions will be still 4.2 based, as those are what I left off with, and I want to get a good, solid update before I go jumping android versions. Going from 4.2 to 4.4 will most likely result in some major bugs, and it'll be tough to figure out what are bugs I hadn't fixed in 4.2 and what is new from 4.3/4.4. Be patient, though, as it's been a few months, so it might take me some time to get this working again.
[Motorola Photon 4G] knG333:
Welcome back to the Photon graveyard! I plan to upgrade my device soon but I'll test anything you put out.

I'm currently using your CM 10.1 beta and I love everything about it minus the weird issue where when you scroll in browsers, it zooms instead. It doesn't happen in Firefox though.

Let us know if you need any files you may have lost in your absence.
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
I am not too worried about ROM support at this point since I will be moving onto the LG G2 as my primary phone hopefully by sometime next week if not earlier. However I am still keeping my Photon 4G as a backup phone and will still be interested in flashing new ROMs especially if you can get Android 4.4 to work on the Photon.

I am glad to hear that you are back to developing again for the Photon and will be patient in any progress you make in 4.2 and possibly 4.4.
[Motorola Photon 4G] VideoSavant:
Bill,

Are you still planning on doing some work for an LG Optimus G ROM?

Completely understand if that plan has changed, but I'm eager for something beyond stock on the LGOG. Based on what's currently available for the LGOG, I'm seriously thinking about selling it and snagging a Nexus 5 instead. I only picked the Optimus G because I didn't expect Sprint to embrace the next Nexus phone, based on their track record.

It seems pretty clear to me that if you're someone like me who wants the latest Android bells and whistles, whether it's the latest genuine Android update or a third-party ROM, the best choice is a Nexus phone or tablet.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I actually have Beanstalk on the OG that I own at the moment. It seems really nice and capable so far, though I will admit that I have only had it on there for about 6 hours...LOL.

I do plan to dabble on the OG, but it's pretty wel saturated with people working on it, so I am going to get back into working on the Photon first, then move to the OG once I get more familiar with the newest version of Android :)
[Motorola Photon 4G] VideoSavant:
Thanks for the reply and update. Also, I appreciate the tip on Beanstalk. It seems that most of the ROMs listed over at the LGOG section are not very up to date or continue to have remaining issues. It seems like there is less activity in general on the LGOG than there was on the Photon, but maybe my perception isn't correct. I'll dig a bit deeper, starting with Beanstalk.

Thanks again for all your work on the Photon.
[Motorola Photon 4G] not.a.troll:
It's pretty exciting to see you back here Bill. Have you considered taking a look at the atrix dev thread for the kernel update and maybe porting it to the photon? Best of luck and welcome back.

Enviado desde mi MB855
[Motorola Photon 4G] mambaram:
Hi Bill,

Glade that you are ok and you are most welcome back. We are all waiting to jump in the new 4.4 rom from you.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm in the process of looking into it. I'm going to start with their ICS version of the kernel, as that one is going to be closest to what I have dealing with a GB kernel we're using now.

Right now, I'm building Beanstalk 4.2.2....yes, it's an older android version, but I need to see what does and doesn't work before I can jump into 4.3/4.4 and add in more things to edit :)
[Motorola Photon 4G] ericdabbs:
Awesome. I have been looking for an update to the Beanstalk 4.2.2 ROM. Hopefully the Atrix ICS kernel can help to fix some issues with the Beanstalk 4.2.2 ROM.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm hoping...but I'm pretty green with kernel related stuff, so it might be slow progress on that front. Just want to be clear so that we don't have anyone expecting a quick result on the kernel...they've been working on it since January....just to give you an idea of the length of time the guys have been working on it over there...LOL
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm also going to warn that their kernel may not provide me any help at all. I've been reading their thread over the last couple of hours and need to make a few points:

1) There was a leaked Motorola Atrix ICS kernel that they a the very least partially reverse engineered to get code they needed. To date, I am not aware of ONE SINGLE ICS kernel ever being made....let alone ever leaked for the Photon. This will make it tough, as there may be no way to accurately figure out what was where.

2) The latest source released for the Photon was from 6/12 (yes....16 months ago). Atrix received code from Moto 2/13 (8 months ago while they were in initial dev work on the kernel).

3) They had a team of 4 kernel devs that have worked for almost a year (first posts from Nov 27 last year). I am the only dev on this device that I know of, and have really no kernel experience.

4) They had an army of donated Atrix phones that they used for this process....some of which ended up perma-bricked. I have 2 photons...one of which has a non-funtioning USB port (I hope to fix it, but no guarantees there). That means if I brick the one I have that is fully working, I cannot logcat/dmesg or in any other way debug/log the phone.

Not to say that I don't get lucky, but I've got a mountain ahead of me. I'm going to try to get spleef back into the Photon for development (so he can at least help upkeep the current ROMs for it. If you know of anyone willing to donate some Photons, it would be great, as I have a feeling I'm going to kill some, and if mine die, I will have nothing to test with, and dev work will grind to a halt (too difficult to fix stuff without a device there to debug).
[Motorola Photon 4G] chetansaraf:
... Photon community is Up and Live again just because of you Bill. Thanks for comin back. i think a stable and bug free 4.2.2 rom is needed 1st. hope we get it soon ...
[Motorola Photon 4G] Devilish_Angel:
hope you come out with a solid rom. be it 4.3 or 4.4 but give us somethin now after a long gaaaaap.
[Motorola Photon 4G] kdog350:
I recently switched to the Galaxy nexus from sprint but It would be awesome to see the photon get updated!
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I'm in the process of figuring out a couple bugs on the last CM10.1 build...I say last because after this, I'm going to be working on bringing 10.2 to the Photon. So, I want to get the current bugs fixed before I move on.

Bug 1) Camera is now FCing. I can do a patch by using an old camera, but I would prefer not to do that

Bug 2) Bluetooth is still not working...doesn't initialize

Bug 3) APNs are still showing up incorrectly. This is the biggest one in my mind, as without them working right, the stock MMS app doesn't work right, and you end up having to use a 3rd party app that you can set the APNs independently of the system to send MMS.

This process has been made slightly slower by the facr that I had to activate my daughter a new phone, which was SOOO much FUN (sense my sarcasm) dealing with Sprint for...LOL. I also got a new phone. I will still work on this, but I am learning the HTC One also...great device...looked into all the other ones, and decided that it really had the feature set I wanted. I think after having it for 24 hours now, that I finally have a phone to unseat the Photon from the "My Favorite Phone Of All Time" spot (which even the LG Optimus G couldn't do). Don't worry...I still plan to show the Photon plenty of love. I have at least 3 ROMs I plan to do. CM, Beanstalk, and ChameleonOS. POSSIBLY others...not sure just yet.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Devilish_Angel:
so very soon we are gonna see new roms for MoPho. great.
[Motorola Photon 4G] bullfrog527:
Came back to look at the ol photon forums and what do we have here. Nice to see a little activity.

I still have my old MoPho as our "house" phone on a prepaid T-Mobile sim card. I'll def keep coming back and am willing to test whatever
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I have not forgotten you all.I'm working on the kernel right now, as I think that will be only way that I'll get any builds working fully.

Still having issues: camera fc, usb storage not connect to pc, apn not loading right.

Still hard at work. Going to have something for you all to pay around with by the weekend. No promises.
[Motorola Photon 4G] sandiskuser:
Guys, I installed the rom and followed the instructions, but I can't manage to send/receive SMS messages..

calling and receiving-calls is working, the rom looks well, but I SMS simply won't work.

Also, it doesn't show that I'm connected to a network provider..but does perform calls. network provider is "unknown"

How do I fix this? It's a Sprint Photon 4G, but I changed my carrier and now with GSM.

Thanks in advance!
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Check your APN settings. Use voice dialer and say "open APN". Are they the ones for your carrier, if not Google search and add, or change it to the right ones. Save. Reboot and check apn, if they stuck send one to yourself. Verify
[Motorola Photon 4G] sandiskuser:
My APN settings seems fine..checked them again, problem still occurs.

In #*#*4636*#*# it says ERROR in Current Network field.

Neighboring CID: Unknown

but Gsm service: In service

Network type: HSPA

Message waiting: false

Preffered network type: GSM auto (PRL)
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Ah, GSM user. which service are you using?

I'm still CDMA sprint. but will help where I can.
[Motorola Photon 4G] sandiskuser:
My carrier is outside USA uses CDMA2000 1x - EV-DO and UMTS (850 & 2100) actually.
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Looks like it thinks it is gsm, so best bet is to flash with a complete wipe. Install on your CDMA channel and depending on service company there may be some other file to flash after.
[Motorola Photon 4G] sandiskuser:
By "Install on your CDMA channel", what do you mean?
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Sorry, I mean choose the CDMA. I know this version works on CDMA sprint.
[Motorola Photon 4G] ganeshshas:
Weekend has came Bill... request you any updates for our Photon....

By

A One of Photon user who Always waiting for latest and bug free update for Photon....
[Motorola Photon 4G] antipasto:
If Bill is anything like me, ya have to find a long block to either at least think of what all you need to do, or to get into that iteration zone and that can be a very scarce thing in the world today. I wish him luck but I don't envy the stress such a thing can cause, and I'm there myself with an app that is about 2 years overdue :p
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
I understand you're looking forward to a quick release, but you must realize this...I'm digging through almost a years worth of commits that the Olympus Kernel team did to get it working right on their device, then having to try to figure out how to make them work on the Photon. Combine that with the fact that this is the first time I've ever really tried to do anything kernel related, and you get some idea of what I'm up against.

Then add to that the fact that I have a wife and 3 young daughters who are only young once, and you realize that I'm pretty well spread thin. I'm working on it, but it may be a little bit of time before I have anything that is right. I have 3 unreleased builds I did the other day (CM10.1, Beanstalk, and ChameleonOS), but I don't want to release something with the same bugs that have existed....I want to finally fix BT, graphics, and storage, and that's only going to be done fully right by rebuilding the kernel.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
Thank you for being understanding and sharing your experience with this kind of work. I love it...don't get me wrong, but in the order of the world, it goes: 1) Family, 2) Job, 3) Friends, 4) Android LOL :)
[Motorola Photon 4G] secret.animal:
Take your time Th3bill, people are anxious and excited. But they will understand one way or another. Take care of those things in that exact order.

In reality one of these days I would like to try building. Being disabled I have more time but as any family man, family comes first.

Putting it out there, willing to help wherever I can, with any thing I can.
[Motorola Photon 4G] Th3Bill:
Cdma sprint? I tested it on my daughter's photon
[Motorola Photon 4G] kashis32:
Yes CDMA sprint. I it boots just fine and the gapps work but I have no signal or service. I have checked the settings and done fresh installs but same result. Still an Awesome rom, I guess I have one of those finicky Photons:). I will keep trying
[Motorola Photon 4G] dragontology:
I will test on US Cellular/Electrify. I know this isn't daily driver material (WiFi and Bluetooth are both essential) but hey, it's 4.2, let's see what's what.

We will probably need a custom Gapps as not everything in the usual 4.1.2 Gapps works, namely the latest Google Now, in many ROMs. I actually have the latest Google Now working just fine in King Kang, not sure what I did right but it works. Keyboard and camera/Photo Sphere are hit and miss for a lot of people (both miss for me). Gmail, Market, YouTube, Calendar all work fine. Google Now, we should stick with the second to latest version. Google account framework is fine. Not sure about the behind-the-scenes stuff.

/edit: I am happy to report that CM10.1 boots and works great on US Cellular/Electrify. This is a damn good ROM, Bill. I'm surprised. I wasn't expecting to want 4.2 so much over 4.1, but I'm really digging this. This won't be a daily driver (I need WiFi and Bluetooth) but it's good. For reference, I was coming from the latest King Kang, did a full wipe, chose US Cellular for the radio, chose Tweak, and chose EMMC as the primary storage. WiFi is enabled but can't see my router, but you knew that already. Bluetooth won't turn on, but I think you knew that, too. Camera preview's busted, and yeah, you did say it was, but I think the camera actually works better. Faster, more responsive. I think when you work out the kinks, the 4.2.1 ROMs will be markedly better than the 4.1.2 ROMs. I personally can't wait to get a working AOKP on my phone running 4.2.1.

Took a minute or five for signal to work. I thought I'd be without mobile data, but it came up. I had my wife call me and that worked. Got on the browser. Now, the browser looks all zoomed in. I don't think the DPI is to blame, though it could be a little off. Text just looks bigger than it should, and I can scroll to the sides and I shouldn't be able to or have to -- this on a generic Google search (for Texas Roadhouse... I started to type "Testing" but got "Te" in and just took a suggestion, haha). Also, sliding on the keyboard does nothing. Looks pretty though. And doesn't FC, just doesn't take the input from sliding "testing", nothing comes up in the text entry field. Tap it, it works. 4.1 keyboard is great (once you disable haptic feedback) so maybe switch 4.2's for that.

@bray424: Thanks for the link, but the ROM actually includes Cronus, and it's ugly. Haha! I thought it was just me, but I showed it to my wife and she asked if it was supposed to be like that (hours bold, minutes thin). I think it's atrocious but I see where the appeal comes from. It's off-beat and some people like that. I like the text clock that comes with the King Kang ROM, even though it uses the American date format (I prefer international) and can only be white (I want harlequin green). It looks nice though.

@kashis32: How long did you wait? I didn't have network for a good 5 minutes on US Cellular... and then it came right up. And it's stayed there.
[Motorola Photon 4G] hoslayer13:
My signal wasn't there after a fresh install from Liquid so I reflashed and flashed gapps. After completing the setup, the signal came through clear and strong. (I restored Liquid though because I need the camera preview for taking pics of my newborn)

Edit: Forgot to mention that on aroma config, I chose non tweaked instead tweaked CDMA settings