[Epic 4G General] s15274n:
I created this MASSIVE post for the Vibrant. It may help some of you new guys. Please note this is catered to my phone and there may be differences I am not aware of.

My intent is to help... hopefully someone will take what I started and make it better for you guys (hopefully giving me some credit for my time).

Let me know if it helps!

Change log will now start in post #3.

Want to help me for creating this post, please register (and install on your pc) for dropbox using my referral link so we both get an additional 250 MB!

If your question is relevant AND not answered in this guide, please let me know!!

You should read Post 1 in it's entirety before posting a new thread!!

ROOT TOPICS

IF I ROOT, WILL I GET OTA UPDATES?

Yes. Rooting will not prevent this, unless you flash a custom ROM that will block receiving the OTA update. If you do receive and download the OTA update, you will lose root. Typically within hours of the OTA becoming available, thanks to some fine XDA folks you can get the update WITH root. You would simply need to download and flash the update like a normal ROM.

HOW TO ROOT

justadude had a great post on how to root. Please read his post.

* Alternate Method *

XDA user TGA_Gunnman has made another great thread for a one click Root (and now an unroot too). Please see his thread here, and thank him for his work.

Got Root? YOU NEED A RECOVERY!

Big props to XDA user Koush for his amazing Rom Manager App. In short, this lets you create system backups for those "oops" moments. It also gives you a directory of ROMs for easy downloading and flashing. Yeah, it is that cool. Please see his post for instructions. After successfully installing, be sure a make a Nandroid Backup of your system before flashing any rom's (see below).

Free: Premium ($3.99):

HOW TO MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP *ALWAYS BACKUP BEFORE YOU FLASH A NEW ROM

1 - Open Rom Manager

2 - Click on Flash Clockwork Recovery (you can skip this if you have already flashed the recovery before)

3 - Click on "Reboot Into Recovery"

4 - At the prompt, click "ok" to reboot into ClockworkMod Recovery

5 - If this is your first time, you may be at the stock recovery on the Vibrant. Thats normal. Click on "reinstall packages" (ALSO: Volume up and down navigate, and power is used to select an item).

6 - Now, you are at ClockworkMod's Recovery. Scroll down (volume down), to "Nandroid" and select it (power button).

7 - Click on Backup. It will run it's course.

8 - You now have something you can always fall back on in case you F up. Thank Koush and all the testers.

HOW TO RESTORE A BACKUP

Follow the steps from above, but select "Restore" instead. They will be sorted by date YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

DID YOU F'UP AND NEED TO GET BACK TO STOCK?

Well, thanks to XDA User justanothercrowd we have a Nandroid Backup to get you back to how the Vibrant shipped (and rooted of course). Hopefully you don't need it, but thank him after reading his post just in case you do!

HOW TO UN-ROOT *ie, sending your phone in for warranty work

The following code can be keyed in Terminal Emulator (could also be done in ADB or deleting the files using Root Explorer). If you do use Terminal, change the keyboard to the stock Android KB prior to opening Terminal. Apparently the backspace on swype does not work in Terminal. Each line should be entered separately. bahnburner gave the instructions in this thread, which you should review first.

* Alternate Method *

TGA_Gunnman in this thread created a one click root/unroot program. Thank him for his effort.

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR RADIO USING FASTBOOT

Flashing a radio is really about the most dangerous thing you can do. However, if done correctly with fastboot, it is incredibly easy. djmcnz has a good HOW TO on the Nexus forum. You can follow his instructions, but DO NOT download the file he has linked and be sure you type the name of the radio you downloaded for the Vibrant.

HOW TO CHECK AN MD5SUM

Download HashTab. Install. Download your file. Right click on it. Click on Properties and then go to your new "file hashes" tab. Verify this matches the MD5Sum of the file you downloaded before installing/flashing.

HOW TO GET INTO STOCK RECOVERY (NOT ROOTED YET)

I hold my phone horizontal when powered off.

Both thumbs on the volume rocker.

Press and hold power and volume buttons.

When the Vibrant logo comes up, release power, keep holding the volume rocker.

THINGS TO DO WITH ROOT

WANT THE STOCK ANDROID LAUNCHER FROM THE NEXUS ONE?

Grab the Launcher2.apk file attached below. Move it to system/app and press home. There, stock android. I have to say the 3d launcher is very nice. I still prefer LauncherPro (my fav).

View attachment 392685 MD5 8804735190DEC0F2F42DEDF0DAB8A261

TRY THE CAPTIVATE CAMERA, ON YOUR VIBRANT

Thanks to mikey98277 and his post here you can easily flash the Captivate Camera on your Vibrant. I have played with both and it's a matter of preference, but I think most agree the Captivate is a easier/cooler UI. ALSO, it sorts pictures in the correct order!!

REPLACE THE TW CALENDAR WITH STOCK ANDROID CALENDAR

I was not a fan of the TW calendar. I downloaded CM 5.0.8 and took the calendar from his rom and replaced it. Here is a great guide. Note, I use an app called quick boot for fast reboots! The Calendar and CalendarProvider .apk's are attached below.

View attachment 392679 MD5 4EA76AAFD2911388A9E8DB12490A055B

View attachment 392680 MD5 A750B4D4964581D830F45A08B1A4CE34

USE THE GALAXY I9000 BOOTUP / SHUTDOWN ANIMATIONS & SOUND

rko did an awesome job with these flashable bootup/shutdown animations (place them on the /sdcard (internal memory) NOT sdcard/sd (external). Be sure and thank him for his work!

CONTROL YOUR STARTUP (PLUS MORE)

There are many apps in the Market for this function, I only know and use Autostarts (found here). The developer has been very receptive to feedback and informative. This app does a lot, but this is what I suggest.

Download it. Install it. GO TO MENU > SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS > (can't recall the next menu name at the moment) AND ENABLE USB DEBUGGING (it will not work otherwise). Open Autostarts.

It will scan the system and put all the apps that are used for MANY different tasks the phone does. I then go to the options and hide all of the system apps (no point in messing with those). After that, simply control what market/3rd party apps should be running given the task identified by Startup. You will be surprised what apps appear, for no good reason. Of course Android will eventually kill these when needed, but why have them open in the first place (this is better than a task killer if you ask me). Obviously if you are sending a text message you do not want to disable an app like handcent, so use common sense here. Any questions or issues, I would suggest emailing the developer or posting a question in the App section (perhaps there is already a designated Startup thread to ask this question, hint hint).

Autostarts (Approx $1):

RESTORE SETTINGS AFTER WIPING YOUR PHONE *If changing from one ROM to another, be courteous, and wipe.

XDA user SykesAT reminded me that Titanium Backup is a great app for restoring after wiping your system. I do not use it, so I asked him to do a small write up. He obliged, and here it is:

Titanium Backup:

DELETE THE BLOAT!

Download Root Explorer (i'm not associated with) and go to System/App to remove a lot of the bloatware that came on the phone. I strongly encourage researching what can & can NOT be removed. ALWAYS make a backup. Alternatively, you can use Titanium Backup (free) to uninstall the apps (I only know Root Explorer, it never fails me). Remember, I am not responsible. It will be some time before we have a custom ROM that removes this crap for us.

Here is a list of apps I recently used to remove a lot of bloat (I kept AllShare and ThinkOffice). After you backup, delete, go to settings > Applications > Menu > Filter > Show All and delete the leftovers from the apps, little traces left behind.

In that thread I also saw you can delete data_tmo/games (73MB) if you do not play/deleted The Sims.

TAKE SCREEN SHOTS!

If you have root, the easiest way is to download shootme or drocap2 from the market. You can also use the Android SDK, but I'm going to keep is basic here. Once you have your pic, upload it for all of the community to see!

Shootme:

DISABLE ADS WITHIN APPS!

Download AdFree from the market... check for updates and voila, most, if not all apps should be ad-free. Ads help the developers. If you care, rather than block them, try clicking them to support.

AdFree:

HOW TO TETHER

There are apps like Barnacle and Wireless Tether, but I would now recommend the Tether app that came with the Galaxy (that was removed by a lot of the carriers). Ibingham was kind enough to post the .apk IN THIS THREAD and I can tell you it works perfectly. Please note the app is not in the app drawer (his first post has everything you need to know).

STOP THE BOOTUP / SHUTDOWN AUDIO NOTIFICATIONS!

This thread has it covered: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=731059

I deleted these two files using Root Explorer (referenced below) and can attest it works perfectly.

So Zaduma does not feel insulted here is an alternate method. You can see his post here.

CAMERA / VIDEO SECTION

NO FLASH?

Yeap, and I do not think it's needed. You can put the Camera in Night Mode and it will take amazingly good photos in a dark situation. I tried this for the first time at a concert recently. I was amazed. Pull out the tab on the left of the camera screen, go to settings and change Scene Mode to Night. Do some test shots to compare for yourself!

LOCK THE SCREEN WHILE VIEWING VIDEOS OR USING THE CAMERA

XDA user timekillerj just made a thread pointing out how to do this. It was new to me, and a nice feature. Simple press the power button and your screen is locked - helpful so you do not skip a scene by accident. You can see his thread here.

HOW DO YOU ZOOM IN?

XDA user antonio91282 pointed out that you can zoom in by pressing the volume rocker while using the camera. It goes from 1-4x.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RECODING VIDEO TO SD VS. INTERNAL MEMORY

XDA user wphend00 asked if there were differences between recording video to the SD vs. Internal memory. Here is my post with links to the videos so you can see for yourself. Here is a link to the entire thread so you can see discussion about it, if any.

APP TOPICS

USE GOOGLE GESTURE FOR QUICKNESS

XDA user os2baba pointed out using Google Gesture to search the phone (everything, apps, contacts, music, etc.). It's a great app where you make gestures with your finger and it isolates your search results based off the letter/number you enter.

Google Gesture:

WHERE ARE APPS LOCATED?

System Apps:

Market Apps:

Market Apps (Private):

Downloaded Apps (using browser):

* If you download an app using the browser, you can use Root Explorer to move the app to data/app so the apps are stored on the 1.9GB partition the system uses. Once moved you can click on it to install it.

TRY A HOME REPLACEMENT (ADW or LauncherPro)

Go to the market and download either - both are free. Gravis86 started a good thread debating which is better, located here.

ADW: LP:

This my LP setup on my Vibrant. Notice the docks (these are also scrollable & there are 5 per each desktop screen you have). The Live Wallpaper is Aquarium.

XDA user afive720 had a nice post on how to revert back to TouchWiz (without uninstalling). You can read the thread here for more information.

WHAT WEATHER APP IS THAT?

It is Beautiful Widgets, found here.

BW is approximately $1.92:

WANT TO USE ALLSHARE: PC > PHONE AND VICE/VERSA?

I found this thread to be extremely helpful. I ended up using Windows Media Player and it was too easy. Great app.

XDA User BritCrit has also given some really good information in this thread you may also want to review.

USE AWESOME DROP TO MOVE FILES IF NO CABLES

If you are ever in a bind, or just being lazy you can use this app to move files from a PC to your phone. No hassle, no account setup and it is free. Just go to this site: http://labs.dashwire.com/drop and then enter the 4 digit code when you open the app on your phone. Drag whatever files to the browser on your PC, and voila, it will instantly start showing up on your phone.

REDUCE A PICTURES SIZE BEFORE SHARING IT?

PaulO'Brien tweeted about an app, Image Shrink Lite, that lets you adjust the size and then select the method you want to share (twitter, messenger, gmail, etc). I mention this only because a lot of people get frustrated when they take a pic and try and send it out, but gmail hangs on it (and it eventually ends up a draft email) because it is too large to send timely. Re-size the pics before you email them and you will not have this Fail.

Image Shrink Lite:

METAMORPH - Theme Your Phone!

junkdruggler has a great thread on everything metamorph. Please check it out here and thank him!

MetaMorph Donate ($1): Free:

** Use Metamorph to theme Swype or your Notification Bar **

Themed Swype - Huge props to hoey2011

Themed Notification Bar (Evo) - Huge props to bahnburner

*ALTERNATIVELY* YOU COULD FLASH THIS .ZIP AND NOT USE METAMORPH (This is what I am currently running, it is spectacular!!).

VIBRANT TOPICS

BUTTONS - Tap vs. Long Press (LP) Taken from www.androidcentral.com:

Home

: Returns to the main home screen. If at the home screen, another tap gives a preview of all home screens.

(LP) = See your most recently used apps (GREAT for multitasking).

Back

: Takes you back a level in an app, or back a page in a browser, etc.

(LP) = In your browser, quickly access bookmarks, history and most-visited sites. Thanks, Snapdragon0503! (EDIT: odd, doesn't seem to work for me now)

Menu

: Tap this for additional options in an application, or from the home screens.

(LP) = Make the keyboard appear.

Search

: Brings up the search function. Could be search within an app, Google search, or universal search of contacts, bookmarks, apps, etc. that are in the phone.

(LP) = Launches voice search.

WANT A NEW LOOK? CHANGE YOUR FONT!

In settings, go to sound and display. Change the "Font Style" is like 8th from the bottom. There are a few freebies, and about 50 for a dollar in the market. If you want to see more available, click on "Get Fonts Online." This will direct you to the Market.

I changed my system to helvetica, and I was amazed at the level it changed the phone.

XDA user jzero88 has an amazing thread with MANY, MANY fonts. Download, Install, go to Display Settings and change the font, reboot, enjoy. Big kudos!!

CHANGE THE DOCK BUTTONS ON TOUCHWIZ!

Open the app drawer, menu, edit, change to customizable. With the app drawer open now, press menu and edit again. You can now replace the two app docks in the middle (dialer and app drawer can't be replaced).

DELETE APPS FROM THE LAUNCHER OF TOUCHWIZ

Open the launcher, menu > view type, change to customizable. Now press Menu again and select Edit. All of the non-system apps will have a red subtraction logo. Thanks to XDA user erikrios and his post for this gem!

QUICKLY ADJUST YOUR BRIGHTNESS

Move your finger left to right across the notification bar. You probably need to cut off auto-brightness though. thanks to soklean (neat!)

NEED TO COPY AND PASTE?

If at a site, and you need to copy some text... click Menu > Select Text > Drag your finger over the text you need to copy. When you release your finger, the selected text is copied to your clipboard. Long press and paste when ready. I agree this is not perfect, but some of us may not even know you could do it. Froyo is coming soon, and with it the ability to easily copy/paste within gmail.

HOW TO CONTROL + F USING THE ANDROID BROWSER

Android makes this very easy when using their browser as well. Simply press Menu when in the browser, go to More, then select "Find on Page." You can then enter the keyword you are looking for and use the directional arrows (to the left of the word) to move from one entry to the next.

CHANGE THE HAPTIC VIBRATION INTENSITY

Love this feature. I often find haptic feedback is too much. To adjust the intensity, from the home screen: Menu > Settings > Sound and Display > Vibration Intensity. As you slide the bar it gives you an idea of the intensity.

TAP CONTACT IMAGE FOR MORE OPTIONS

XDA user jkang29 reminded me of another thing I took for granted. When you are in Contacts, click on the image of the contact for MANY options on how to contact/share with that particular contact. Thanks jkang29!

WANT TO DISABLE SD CARD NOTIFICATIONS?

To cut off the sound, from the home screen: Menu > Settings > Sound and Display > SD Card Notifications. You can uncheck this and never hear that sound again.

CONTACTS / DIALER TOPICS

EDIT YOUR CONTACTS (BIG IMPROVEMENT IMHO)

Please read my guide located here. It was moved to save space. This really cleans up the phone, so I encourage giving it a try!

FIND YOUR CONTACTS FASTER!

When you load Contacts, you will notice the far right has the alphabet running top to bottom. Good news, by simply pressing on the letter you will automatically jump down, instantly.

SMART DIALER!

Pull up your dialer and just start typing the number (or letters will work too, thanks sl0play) out. It filters down your contacts as you type each new digit/letter. Likely, after the area code and first 1 or 2 digits after should be enough. There will be a drop down on the right and a number above it (the # of possible contacts based off what you input). Just press the contact, and the press CALL, genius.

SLIDE CONTACT PIC TO TEXT/CALL

denny_1986 mentioned in this post, that by sliding the contact picture to the left you are sent to the messenger app (with the "to" field completed). If you slide the contact pic to the right, you call the default phone number. Works in both Contacts and Messenger.

KEYBOARD TOPICS

TRY A NEW KEYBOARD!

To switch... simply long press anywhere that you would normally input text (a text message or the search widget). "input method" will pop up, click on this. Now choose the KB you want to try out. If one is not showing up, go to Menu > Settings > Locale and Text and make sure it’s there & checked.

NEED A TRACKBALL?

In swype, move from the "swype tips" button to the "sym" key. Voila, directional buttons appear + other goodies (see pic).

MISC. GUIDES

HOW TO MOUNT PHONE TO PC

XDA user DaMaDo reminded me Android does not auto-mount like some other phones on the market. When most of us connect the phone, the USB drivers are automatic (use the cable that came with your phone!). If not, there is a guide below to assist. For now, let's assume all is well on the first connection of the Vibrant to the PC. When you connect you will likely get a popup on the PC about installing drivers, great.

Okay, go to the phone's notification bar and pull it down. You will see USB Connected. Click on this, & then click on "Mount."

Shortly after, your computer should pop up automatically TWO devices, the "/SDCARD" (Internal Memory) and "SDCARD/SD" (SD Card). If not, go to My Computer and find the drives you just mounted to the PC.

NEPHRON'S GUIDE FOR ADB, etc (taken from the G1 forums)

This guide helped me a ton. I realize some things may be different, but I could not think of a better starting point. Please read this thread.

CONVERT VIDEO FILES ON YOUR PC FOR YOUR PHONE

XDA user TGA_Gunnman did an excellent job putting a thread together for how to convert videos using HandBrake (get it here) and then moving them to your phone. Be sure and thank him if his how to helped you!

HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL A NEW SD CARD

XDA user techspy posted this question and I had recently done it so I responded. Like always, I'm certain there are people on here who know how to do this better/easier, but this works and is nothing difficult. Here is my post with instructions, and here is the thread for discussion.

HOW TO HIDE FOLDERS

achild made a great post with the instructions. Thank him for his effort on this post!

MISC. QUESTIONS

MY PHONE NUMBER DOES NOT SHOW UNDER SETTINGS?

It has happened to me on the G1, and I recently saw a Vibrant user post this. smerff has an excellent post with what you need to do!

WHAT ARE THOSE FUNKY BARCODES?

These are QR Codes. Download Barcode Scanner from the market. Scan any of these codes I linked. You will be sent to the app in the market. Download, enjoy.

NOTICE LAG?

I do not encourage this

, but some will want to play with it. There is a great thread on tweaks that can be done to speed up the Galaxy. I personally will wait for either an update or a custom ROM. Others users have reported a Factory Reset has helped. Again, updates are coming soon as well as custom ROMs.

DOUBLE NOTIFICATIONS?

If you are using a 3rd party app, you may be getting double notifications. For example, I use Handcent for texting (you should try it). First thing you need to do is open the stock Messenger app, go menu > Settings and disable notifications. This is basic, but sometimes it's easy to overlook.

SHOULD I USE A TASK KILLER?

Absolutely not. You have the best OS and one of the best spec'd phones ever. You would be doing more harm than good. If you do have one, uninstall, reboot and let me know what you think! If you have a bad app that is causing you issues, uninstall it, rather than installing a TK.

In addition, even Google at Google I/O 2010 addressed app developers and asked them to no longer include "quit" or "close" as options within their apps. I think Andronica (another great android site) summed it up well with their article, found here.

XDA user iunlock created a thread with some good debate based off this sticky. You can read all the thoughts by clicking here. In short, the overwhelming majority agreed and some have commented on seeing an increase in performance after deleting their task killers.

HOW TO DO A FACTORY RESET!

Rarely should you need to do this (I've never done one), but if you want to, simply press menu and go to settings. Scroll down to Privacy. In there is the option to perform a Factory Reset.

NEED HELP INSTALLING THE DRIVERS ON YOUR PC?

TGAGunnMan started a great thread with links for the drivers. You can view it here.

courtmagician also has a good thread discussing issues with USB Debugging as well. I would suggest reading this thread also.