[General Topics] petesimon:
I completely understand. My first smart phone was a crappy blackberry 5 years ago. I never modified or tweaked. Boring! haha. My first Android phone was 2 years ago, and yes I really tweaked it and I'm still using it as a media player / internet browser! Recently, I got this Jiayu phone...and liking it!

The user manual here or here (ge.tt).

http://www.jiayumobile.be/mediabin/documenten/MTK6589_V6 User Manual engels.pdf

and here is a guide about Android 4.2:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/android_guide_version_420

Otherwise, search online for "android 4.2 user guide" or "android 4.2 tips" or "jiayu g4 features" or something like that.

As for your other questions, I suggest you read and learn about 'modding', 'rooting', removing 'bloatware' and 'recovery mode', and most importantly not to 'brick' your device...

1. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2344474

2. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1268447

3. http://www.talkandroid.com/guides/beginner/newbies-guide-to-rooting/

4. http://www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk/tutorials/get-to-know-android-recovery-mode/

5. http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-a-Default-or-Core-System-Apps-from-an-Android-Phone

There are also many thorough videos about Jiayu G4 devices.

Try: Youtube here.

TvTube.mobi here.

and these other suggested video sites:

http://mashable.com/2011/05/11/youtube-alternatives/

Well, this is a fair warning... your eyes are going to hurt reading all that stuff, but I think it's necessary before you perform system-level modifications to your device. :silly:

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*EDIT* I will try to answers your questions tonight... By the way, I have a G4A (G4 Advanced). Which model of G4 did you get? Your ROM and its layout/features may be different than mine. I have the rom that came with the phone, Build number "G4HG 20130816-151656".

Does a proper G4 manual exist? -- Not that I know of. I found another one in Spanish.

Are there any instructions on what apps can be deleted and what not? -- Possibly in this website or other websites such as Pandawillforums.com or MTKForums.com or GizChina.com or Chinaphonearena.com but I haven't found any. Try "Root App Delete" or similar app that freezes or uninstalls system apps, those that are already installed under the /system folder. Available on the Google Play Store. * Root access is needed. Be sure to read about enabling root in links # 1, # 2 and # 3 above. I can give you more info on that if the phone is root enabled already. The best/quickest way (I think) needs a PC and a usb data cable.

Where can I set individual ring tones? -- Under: MENU button (the one on the phone's casing) > System settings > Audio Profiles.

Is it possible to configure the individual SIMs? -- Yes, try: MENU button > System settings > SIM management. One more to try: press on the phone app (at the bottom dock bar, or in apps drawer/list) > MENU button > Settings.

Click on these screenshots...

So, my next question is how can I make a complete backup of my phone's internal memory so I can restore it at leisure....? -- Don't know if any PC centric software easily does full backup of android devices. However, there is way to backup via "adb" (android debug bridge) with a computer. User 'madhouze' wrote tips on how to do that, and lifehacker.com also wrote a guide about how to use 'adb' graphical interface program for backups. I believe the two methods are different but should produce the same results.

Otherwise, this phone and many other android devices have a "recovery" mode that can run separately of the normal mode, and presents a kind of pre-boot environment with simple menus and some backup/restore/wipe data functions. A backup function will save everything from the phone to the EXTERNAL sd card except the contents of the internal sd card. So usually a micro sd card with about 2 GB free is needed. I think at least an 8 GB card is best. This mode is often started from power off state, and press VOLUME UP *or* VOLUME DOWN *and* POWER or some other combination of available buttons, but I could not figure that out with this phone. So just went straight to installing a popular and more feature rich recovery system call cyanogenmod or for short CWM. I did this with a very nice fan made app "Jiayu.es" from Google Play Market. Run that app, and download "Recovery CWM 03-01-2012" next the hat icon, and install that download under "Tools ROMs > Install Recovery". Test it by rebooting into recovery mode with a Rebooter app. If it works, reboot into normal mode. And then use Jiayu.es app to do a backup of the phone's data with CWM helping out the operation, under "Tools ROMs > Backup / Restore System" check mark ON "I have installed CWM Recovery". When you successfully run recovery mode, you will see a screen like the one below. You can navigate with VOL UP, VOL DOWN, POWER to active, and BACK hardware buttons. If for any reason you would like to manually backup/restore/wipe then start recovery mode via a Rebooter app but without using Jiayu.es app. Be sure to do all "wipe" functions before you install a different/new ROM. I like the Jiayu.es ROM 20131203 (05-12-2013) that can be installed using only the phone and Jiayu.es app over Wifi. *Again, your phone will need root enabled before you do all this magic.

Please see my post about this issue.

Some sort of G4 Guide for Dummies is what I'm looking for. Does something like this exist? -- There is a published books called "Android Tablets for Dummies". Unfortunately, I don't know of any proper Idiots or Dummies guides for Android Phones with JellyBean 4.2 or 4.3 (especially not Chinese phones), but just thrown together guides, manuals or "tips and tricks" online such as this one from techradar.So, yeah, most stuff I read is from many online websites and forums, in pieces of course.

The manual goes on to describe the buttons, but where are they? -- I have only briefly looked at manuals for phones, hehe :p Yeah, I'm sorta a kid who likes to press all the buttons for hours until something stops working, turn the thing off, and turn it on again and keep pressing buttons. The three buttons at the very bottom of the phone while facing up, on the physical case of the phone, are MENU, HOME, BACK, from left to right. Some apps respond to all those, some apps don't. Newer apps designed for both tablets and phones may not respond to MENU button, but instead have a sort of equivalent button on the touch area of the screen. I like to press-and-hold HOME for 3 seconds and get a list of recently used/ran apps, and then swipe up and down, choose an app, or swipe left or right to close the app.

The phone also occasionally beeps and brings up a small window without any text except an OK button. What can that be? Maybe I deleted too much of the Chines junk? -- Hm. Not sure what's happening. Maybe try to retrace your course of actions some hours or a day before you got that popup message. What is your ROM version? Find this from the home screen (no app on screen), MENU button, > System settings > About phone (scroll downward), and find "Build number" in the list.

I can attach a USB stick, but haven't found how I can unmount it! -- All available storage can be managed under: MENU button > System settings > Storage, and scroll way down to find "EXTERNAL USB STORAGE" and you should see "Unmount ...".

I hope that helps. If you plan to let other people use your phone a lot, and want keep some privacy, you can enable multiple user profiles inside the phone. The setup is quite geeky and potentially could screw up the system, but it works quite nicely once it's setup. Here's the post I made with instructions I sure to work on this G4 phone.

How's your progress with figuring out stuff? Did you connect the phone to your computer(s) by USB, and the drivers work? Here are drivers I used for Windows 7. Do you think the phone accepts a 64 GB micro sd card? I use a 32 GB micro sd now.

I can't speell! uh spell! Happy hunting! :cowboy: