yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
GUIDE SGS4 GSM vs CDMA, Unlocking, Rooting,Info on XDA, Flashing,4 noobs & beginners

First off: if you find this useful, please hit the THANKS button, instead of posting thank you in the comments

Over the course of the past three months (and more specifically, over the past week), I'd like to think I've gone from complete noob to proficient android ROM flasher/ phone dude. However, it took many, many hours of searching for info scattered across this site and others, so I figured I'd give compiling all I've learned a shot, into one comprehensive thread that really covers all the stuff you need to learn from the ground up.

Will do so in the next couple 10 posts, topics being:

*Step (-1): What type of network/ phone technology does your phone use?

*Step (0): is your phone networked locked?

*Step (0.5): DECIDING YOU WANT TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE!/ Put a custom operating system on that thaaaang

*Step1: figure out what your device is- specific phone and model

*Step2: figure out how to root (gain root access to) your device looking at XDA forums

*Step3: Follow instructions, root device

*Step4: backup all your apps and app data

*Step5: Install a custom recovery either ClockWorkRecovery (CWR) or Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP), and do a nandroid backup!

*Step6: Choose which ROM or multiple ROMS you want to try out, and download the zipfile to your phone's internal memory or

*Step7: Step 7: flash the ROM and restore your apps!

NOTE: YOU TWEEK YOUR PHONE/ FOLLOW MY ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK

I just learned this stuff myself, so I thought now would be a good time to explain it, while I can still remember what if feels like to have no idea what I'm doing haha.

Before I go further, there are similar intro threads to this...for example, this one does a decent job of explaining that by modding your phone, you may void the warranty (although there are ways to restore your device to a state such that you can't tell you ever modded, it, like triangle away, etc.) http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1118120

I posted this here because a couple of these steps use the Galaxy S4 i9500 as an example...so if you have that phone this thread should be particularly helpful.
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step(-1): What type of network/ phone technology does your phone use?

If you are OUTSIDE the USA, 99% chance the answer to this question is GSM, meaning your phone number is attached to a little plastic sim card that you can put into/ out of your phone...you should check anyways though to be sure.

If you are in the US, you may have a phone which uses CDMA, a technology that does not use Sim cards (true if your carrier is Verizon or Sprint). Phones that JUST use CDMA are sort of "Hardwired" to their networks, making it much more of a hassle to switch carriers; plus, basically everywhere else in the world uses GSM, so if you plan on traveling outside the USA, you probably won't be able to use your phone abroad. If you have a fancy new smart phone, it may have the hardware to use both CDMA and GSM networks, (for example, all Iphones models 4s and above), so check your phone specs.

In the US, the major carriers that use GSM are ATT and Tmobile. I prefer getting phones from these guys, because I know I'll be able to relatively easily use my phone anywhere in the world, and easily switch between cheap, prepaid, contract free plans (like straight talk or ultramobile), which rent out the networks of major carriers like ATT and Tmobile.
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step(0): is your phone networked locked?

ans: This is mostly a non-issue to folks outside the US, or if you don't plan on switching your carrier, but if you plan on travelling abroad or switching your carrier, and have a CDMA phone, you have a tough road ahead that I cannot advise you on ;). I would suggest checking out this site and buying a slightly used android gsm phone (att or tmobile branded) http://swappa.com/ .

However, if you have a GSM phone you got in the US, your phone may be configured so that putting sim cards from different carriers in it won't give you any service (aka "locked" or "network locked"). Check by taking a friend's Sim card using a different network than you and popping it into your phone; if you have service/ can make and receive calls, the phone is NOT locked. There are probably more sophisticated ways of checking if your phone is network locked, but above is probably the most straightforward.

There are some methods of unlocking your phone for free, but if you have a newer phone it may not work. Plenty of online sites that sell you unlock codes for between $7-$25, and send the code over email either instantly or a day at most after you buy it. Definitely worth it in my opinion; one site I've used a bunch is http://www.cellunlocker.net/

NOTE: if you have your phone on a contract, you are still obligated to pay your carrier throughout the time of your contract, else you pay some cancellation fee. So be aware of that.
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step 0.5 DECIDING YOU WANT TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE!/ Put a custom operating system (ROM)

SO, now let's say you've network unlocked your awesome GSM android smartphone, and you want to travel with it to another country, like for example, India. Because you unlocked it, you can buy a cheap local Sim card and use it in your phone, fully enjoying mobile 4g data (well, more like 3.5G, using HSPA+, not so much 4G LTE in India yet, but I digress). OR, you can use a $45 a month prepaid plan where you get unlimted everything and have no contract, instead of paying $80 a month or some garbage. AWESOME!

However, let's say you got a Tmobile phone and want to use the phone's capability of being a portable wifi hotspot, broadcasting the mobile data it's getting to your computer...turns out you can't do that in India (or on cheap prepaid plans in US, for that matter). I discovered that since I was using a Tmobile branded phone, the Tmobile "stock" operating system of the phone won't let you use the wifi hotspot unless you have Tmobile's special "hotspot plan"...it also hard codes a bunch of shi**y bloatware apps on your phone that suck. Some BULLS**T, eh?

Luckily, there are plenty of free and easy ways to "root" (gain root acccess) to your phone (and plenty of resources telling you how to do so!), and install custom android operating systems on your phone, which

1.) don't have any stupid bloatware apps

2.) let you use all the hardware features of your phone regardless of carrier

The result is a more powerful phone that runs faster, uses less battery life, and is generally just way more badass. Probably the best resource for how to do all of this is the xda-developers forums (http://xdaforums.com/ ) Very vibrant community, and lots of people will help...just follow the rules though, explained tongue and cheeck in the following video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvCpR45LKA ). The main site for xda-developers is www.xda-developers.com, they also do cool vides and stuff on what's up with phone stuff. HOWEVER, if you are not careful you can mess up your phone, so that it's about as good as a paperweight (called "bricking" your phone). So just read all the instructions before you do stuff, yeah?

The following is more or less the beginning steps I did to root and install a custom ROM on a friend's Galaxy S4, which is an international model and so not network locked. The same general process could be applied to your phone as well, but again--this is only a general guide--your phone can (and probably will) have it's own exceptions to the general process. LOOK THEM UP!
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step4: backup all your apps and app data

When you do eventually install a custom ROM on onto your phone, it will start out with little to no apps. The best way to get up and running again as quick as possible is to back up all your apps and data with Titanium Backup (mentioned above), which requires root access. Here's a great video on How to use the free version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQWoWfTA88k ....the video makes a good point in that if you are backing up your apps for a new ROM you are about to flash, you should only backup the User apps. Backing up and restoring the system data as well might cause some problems in the new ROM

While you don't need to to buy the pro version, I would recommend it--7 bucks, but it allows you to restore all the apps you've backed up much faster by letting you back them up into a zip file that you'll later be able to flash on your phone. Very useful, more on that in a bit...video talking about that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRR5FONGJUA
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step5: Install a custom recovery either ClockWorkRecovery (CWR) or Team Win Recovery

By "custom recovery", i mean a custom version of the boot/ recovery interface, which lets you do a lot more with your device besides just restore it to factory settings. These custom recoveries will let you do a full backup of your device (often called a "nandroid backup"--this should be the first thing you do after you root your device!), as well as flash custom phone operating systems (ROMS) onto your phone; useful if you want to fully use all the hardware features of your phone, and not have the bloatware apps from the manufacurers hard-coded into your phone.

It's worth noting here that it's VERY important to install the correct version of CWR or TWRP. Usually to download CWR for your device, you can just download an app called ROM manager (again, after you've rooted your phone), which will recognize your device and then install the proper CWR version on it.

NOTE: If you have a more esoteric model of phone (like I do--the Samsung Galaxy S3 T999L, an LTE version of the S3 that came out in 2013, a while after the initial S3 launch), you may have to flash a custom recovery of a similar and more popular phone model to flash some custom ROMS (in my case, I had to flash the the Galaxy S3 model T999 version of CWR). For weird esoteric cases like this, it may be worth it to buy a useful app, ROMToolbox pro, which will let you flash a custom recovery for a userdefined device onto your phone in the paid version (it's like $5). Most times you shouldn't have to worry about this stuff, but just make sure you read any instrutions on XDA forums carefully before doing stuff.

As mentioned before, before messing around with your phone anymore, do a nandroid backup--super easy and essential if you make a mistake installing the wrong ROM or Recovery. Doing a nandroid backup will create a .zip file that contains a full "image" of your phone--all your data, apps, settings, a snapshot of your phone exactly the way it was when you took it. In creating this backup you can save it to your phone's micro SD card, or the phones internal memory. Regardless, always a good idea to save a copy on your computer too when you are done.

For the Samsung galaxy S4 i9500, looks like TWRP is the recovery to flash: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2361122
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step6: Choose which ROM or multiple ROMS you want to try out, and dl zipfile to phone

Now comes the fun part. Do some research on what custom ROM you'll want to try out. Some basic principles about ROMS:

Roms based on the Stock OS: These ROMS are based on the manufacturer firmware/ OS that the phone shipped with. So for Samsung devices, for example, these types of ROMS are Touchwiz based (because "TouchWiz" is the name Samsung has given to it's proprietary software that is responsible for a lot of the bell and whistle tricks you see in Galaxy S4 commercials, for example) These Roms are usually about 700 MB in size, and may still have some of the samsung apps installed if you do like to use them.

AOSP or AOKP ROMS:

AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMS are those that ship with "vanilla" android, meaning they don't have any manufacturer bloatware--they come with more or less the bare bones apps required to run the system. These ROMS will be much smaller, around 100-150 MB in size. The most popular of these is CyanogenMod, which is often referred to as just CM (for example, CM11.0.1 stands for CyanogenMod version 11.0.1). The guy who made clockworkrecovery, Koush (a legendary android developer of sorts, it seems), now works for the CyanogenMod development team ( think)

AOKP is the name of another popular AOSP based ROM. AOKP stands for Android Open Kang Project, Kanging being some jargon for stealing code and messing with it or something. Apparently it was used as a joke and then stuck, in the same sense that their mascot being a unicorn stuck (which I think is awesome haha).

IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT AOSP ROMS:

If you flash an AOSP Rom, the google play store will NOT be installed by default. In order to fix that, you'll need to flash another zip file containing the play store app as well as other basic google apps (gapps for short) as soon as you flash the Rom itself. You can find the proper gapps zips that go with the proper AOSP roms here: http://goo.im/gapps

There are couple apps that will let you download the ROM files directly to your interal storage from the app itself, like Rom Manager. However, to make sure you have the most up to date version of the ROM, you should visit the ROM's website directly.

Custom ROMS will often have a most recent stable build, and a most recent "nightly" build. The nightly builds may have some new experimental features, but may be a little buggy.
[Galaxy S 4 General] el_garicimo:
Step 7: flash the ROM and restore your apps!

So here's a pretty good short video walking through how to flash a ROM, although uses a different recovery interface besides CWR or TWRP : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxTwGwtUBbk ....this does a good job of explaining the basic idea, however--

A.)you get the zip file of the ROM you want to flash on your internal or removable SD card

B.) reboot into recovery mode (often by holding down the volume down key and power button at the same time when your power is off, but you should look up what it is for your specific device)

C.) do a Wipe or Factory Reset. THis should not wipe the data on your SD card or phone's Internal SD card

D.) Wipe the Cache or the Dalvik Cache, whatever it is called (though on TWRP, the wipe feature does both a factory reset and cache wipe at once)

E.) install from SD card the zip file containing the ROM you are going to flash

F.) If the Rom is an AOSP based ROM, install the zip file containing the proper package of google apps

G.) reboot system

Again, the above are just general steps. If you want to see someone flashing a ROM with the recovery you are using (and I would recommend CWR or TWRP), just search for it on Youtube.

Now, if you plan on restoring your apps by flashing a Titanium Backup zip file, you first want to reboot into the new ROM, and skip the part when it asks you if you want to restore your phone using your google account (you can do that later). Then reboot into recovery and flash the Titanium backup zip file. got this info here: http://www.s3forums.com/forum/galax...backup-pros-update-zip-restore-your-apps.html

And that's about it! let me know if I got anything wrong. If you do have questions, I'll try my best to answer them, but again, I've just learned all this stuff as well, so I may not know.
[AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III] a sandwhich:
I am trying to carrier/sim-unlock my ATT I747 and when I try the unlock code in CM11 is throws a "network request unlock unsuccessful". I read somewhere that you have to be on a stock samsung rom in order to correctly sim unlock, but when I try to flash back to one of them using odin I get the error "SW REV CHECK FAIL : Fused 2 > Binary 0". Does anyone have any idea on how to fix this? Only trying to unlock the sim.

This is the full output I get when trying to flash back to stock.

ODIN MODE

PRODUCT NAME: SGH-I747

CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: Yes (1 COUNTS)

cURRENT BINARY: Custom

SYSTEM STATUS: Official

QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE

WARRANTY BIT: 1

BOOTLOADER AP SWREV: 2

SW REV CHECK FAIL : Fused 2 > Binary 0

APOLOGIES, THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN FIXED, I USED THE STEPS MENTIONED IN THIS THREAD

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2498233
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Shadow of Chaos:
Hey all, I've finally gotten all teh stuff together for my alternative to the Moga Controller stuff, and I conclude it's not bad at all.

So, here's the equipment of choice:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EKLW8XM/

The case is a cheap, hard case that's decently stable and has all ports available. It's the only case I found that actually has all the ports open, so that's good. While technically you can use whatever case is your fancy, I recommend a hard case, and you're going to need a cheap one because it's going to have no purpose other than this.

(I ordered some flimsy Silicon Cases prior to this, but realized when I held them that they wouldn't work for my purposes).

http://www.amazon.com/GameKlip-VM-004018-Gameklip--Universal-Casemount/dp/B00AS22BYS/

The Gameklip of course. Unfortunetly the main site that sells these is currently (Or was a few days ago) out of the universals, so if you want to use this you're going to have to do this route. It's decently stable and I find it's sticking power is good enough on the above case; However, if you find it to be inadequate, you can feel free to glue the thing if you want; Like I said, the case should only be attached to the klip, so it doesn't matter.

http://www.amazon.com/GameKlip-VM-004018-Gameklip--Universal-Casemount/dp/B00AS22BYS/

A Dualshock, of course. If you have a PS3, you can use one of those controllers, but just keep in mind that you'll have to do some fumbling in order to bring it back and forth.

Issues with the set up:

The set up is a little hard to get situated correctly due to there being little guiding instructions, so you can end up a little lopsided if you're not careful.

It feels slightly top heavy because of the phone. It's not so bad that it's unplayable, and after holding it for a bit I stopped noticing, but it's there.

Anywho, it's a good alternative to the MOGA or other controllers where they end up blocking the power button and volume keys; With this set up, the only thing stopping you from having all the ports is the case you want. It's also ideal because it's the only option that lets you use a Playstion controller, and, having come from both it and the 360, I prefer it.

HOWEVER, if you are interested in using a 360 controller, there is hope for you, though I haven't used it.

http://www.shapeways.com/model/1443...li=gmerchant&gclid=CNj0se74y7sCFRRefgodfAkAxA

Utor cases seem to be a better alternative if you want to use a real 360 controller and don't want to bother with a case. But, like I said, I prefer the PS3 controller for this, and I'm fairly certain the Xperia Skin has native support for it, so.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] shaolin95:
The Utor Case guy told me he should have the PS3 version ready soon..that is the one I am waiting for. :)

Just emailed him to see if he has any update on the ETA.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Shadow of Chaos:
Not bad, not bad. The Utor (I keep mispelling it Ultor... Such a missed chance for a Saint's Row II reference!) cases look like good ways of working it, and their designs definitely leave all the ports open. I probably won't purchase one unless my gameklip breaks, but it's good that the Z Ultra is getting feasible alternatives.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] shaolin95:
Indeed! I was surprised when I saw it since it is not a common phone size..but it sure is a conversation starter :D

Between it and my watch I usually get some comment lol
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] jaime4272:
Wii mote klip

What about wii klip. I made my self one. Take a look
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] raman.sherry:
I am looking for gamepad option for my ultra.which is more compatible dualshock 3 or some cheap chinese blutooth game pad for my device.plz suggest.am i able to play all those games which are moga conpatible with dualshock3 .thanks.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] shaolin95:
Well the PS3 controller being made by sony its super easy to connect as the Xperia already has the built in app for it.

On mine I just press the power button on the controller and it is connected. I can see the power level remaining and turn it off from there too.

All it took to set it up was connecting a usb cable first and run the app, and it quickly says it is done.

Cant get easier than that.

Of course, you may still need sixaxis app for some stuff so depends on what you are playing.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] corrado85:
what android games support the ps3 controller anyways??
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] shaolin95:
Somethings just work, like even the Dreamcast emulator..guess you need to test and find out.
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] raman.sherry:
Got dualshock and it works like charm.really very easy to connect and till now all gamepad supported games run very well with it.only thing i am nt able to figure out is how to activate its rumble effect which dont seem to work in any game.

---------- Post added at 01:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 AM ----------

Corrado i tried mc4, nova3,shadowgun,respawnable till now n controller works.

And here is link of a list which i am sure ll work too.

http://www.droidgamers.com/forums/t...ed-android-games-lets-create-the-master-list/

---------- Post added at 01:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 AM ----------
[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] toadsurfer:
I have this set up too but sadly I find game support for the ps3 controller isn't great. Even games like reckless racing 2 that have controller support the ps3 controller doesn't work properly for. Anyone thinking about getting a controller I would suggest get the better supported moga.
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sweatingmytittsoff:
Anybody heard any news about when to expect the kitkat update in the UK?

Cant get an answer from samsung on facebook.

Thanks
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jaythenut:
you can get it now if you want just go to www.sammobile.com download flash with odin done:)
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sweatingmytittsoff:
Yeah i dont fancy tripping knox flashing it with doin though I'd rather wait for the UK version
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] zipolly:
You won't trip knox by installing it through odin :)
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jaythenut:
it wont tripp knox and as your in uk knox dont matter we are void from knox some law :D
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sweatingmytittsoff:
Ah right I thought using odin would trip knox, will I not need to update my bootloader in order to install the Polish firmware?

Also will i be able to revert back to the UK firmware once it has been released?

Thanks guys
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jaythenut:
yes you have to get bootloader and when uk comes out you might have to flash again with odin

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/update-gal...id-4-4-2-kitkat-official-firmware-how-1433140

heres the update if you want to do it

but you cant go back to 4.3 and ive read 4.4.2 is a bit buggy
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sweatingmytittsoff:
Maybe that's why they haven't rolled it out in other countries yet, I will probably just wait then because I use my note 3 as my daily driver so I'd rather it was 100%
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] freszu:
TechRadar website:

"Samsung UK will announce rollout plans for Android 4.4 in due course."

so,i think....soon:)
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sweatingmytittsoff:
sweet :fingers-crossed:
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hypnodaz:
I'm on Vodafone in the UK and have kit kat, works fine and hasn't tripped my knox. .. enjoy..
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] carols:
same for me,only thing that don't work is sky sports mobile

there is no need to install a different bootloader
[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hypnodaz:
I chose the Spotify package and can confirm that it works fine. .when I first flashed I had a Samsung keyboard issue, but did a full factory reset and it's gone now..also rooted and cwm recovery installed with no issues..