[HD2 General] ashasaur:
[GUIDE]The ULTIMATE n00bs guide to the HD2-HardSPL, Androidm ROMs, Radios and more!

SECTION 7-WARRANTY RETURNS

As much as I would like to say that it doesn't happen, the HD2 does indeed sometimes completely fail because of user error, or just plain hardware faults and must be returned to either T-Mobile or HTC. The warranty process can be a scary one, especially if you HardSPL'd your phone or installed a custom ROM. But fear not! You can get your device back to stock rather easily! In this section I am going to cover the more common HD2 failures and their solutions, as well as how to revert back to your stock carrier ROM and SPL for warranty purposes. Now, this guide assumes that you bought your HD2 from a T-Mobile store and that you are a T-Mobile USA customer. If you purchased your HD2 through an online reseller, or are not with T-Mobile USA, the only option you have is to send your device to HTC directly and have them repair it. See the bottom of this section for more info.

Q1-MY TOUCHSCREEN DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE! WHAT HAPPENED? DID SOMEONE SET ME UP THE BOMB?

A-Where you running Android? For some reason, there seems to be a connection between touchscreen failure and running Android on the HD2. No one currently knows why it happens more often under Android, but it does happen. Please run Android at your own risk. If your screen fails under WinMo, it's more than likely just a strange hardware quirk, and not because of what you are running.

Q2-OKAY WELL NOW MY SCREEN IS BAD, WHAT DO I DO FOR WARRANTY?

A-If you bought your device through a T-Mobile store and it is COMPLETELY STOCK, IE stock SPL and stock ROM, then simply take your phone up to the store you got it from(or any store for that matter) and request that they replace it because the screen seems to be faulty. Most of the time they will have no problem doing so. If your device is NOT in warranty(the warranty period is one year from purchase) you will need to call Customer Care and request they quote you a repair cost. It is usually around 120USD for a new touchscreen includeing shipping, and takes around 4 weeks round trip to be repaired.

Q3-OH NOES! I HAZ CUSTOM ROM! HALPS!

A-No worries. Reverting from a custom ROM to the T-Mobile stock is a fairly simple process, as is reverting back to the stock SPL from HardSPL, and they can be done at the same time with one process. Simply download the latest T-Mobile stock ROM(3.14 as of this writing) extract the .nbh from it and rename it LEOIMG.nbh and place it on the root of your storage card. Then place that card into your device, and start your phone whilst holding down the DOWN volume key to go into bootloader. Follow the onscreen instructions and voila! Stock ROM and SPL in one shot! You are now good to either goto a T-Mobile store and request a new device, or send it back to T-Mobile or HTC for warranty without fears of being denied or paying an extra 50USD for "software restoration".

Q4-WHAT ABOUT A CRACKED SCREEN? IS THAT COVERED?

A-No, cracked screens are NOT covered under either T-Mobile's or HTC's warranty.

Q4.5-BUT I HAVE INSURANCE!

A-Doesn't matter, T-Mobile does not cover cracked or damaged screens, of any kind, under warranty or insurance.

Q5-I BOUGHT MY HD2 THROUGH EBAY, OR FROM ANOTHER SELLER, DOES IT HAVE WARRANTY THROUGH T-MOBILE?

A-Maybe. It all depends on wether the person who bought it originally before reselling it bought it officially through T-Mobile or not. if they did, then again, maybe it does. Warranty status and eligebility also depends on whether you are a T-Mobile customer or not. If you are, then the worst they can tell you is no. Now, if it is NOT covered by T-Mobile, and is less than a year old, it MAY be covered by HTC directly. A call to HTC's warranty department is a harrowing process, so be prepared to be on the phone for at least 30 minutes before you start the call. Goto HTC's website for a phone number for your correct region.

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SECTION 8-MAGDLR AND NANDROID

What's this? MAGDLR? NANDROID? What does that mean? Quite simply friends...MAGDLR is a bootloader that allows Android to be flashed and booted directly from NAND on the HD2.

Q1-WOW! SO I CAN BOOT ANDROID AND WINMO!

A-No. You can boot either or. MAGDLR takes the place of the WinMo loader, and as such, you cannot have MAGDLR flashed and a WinMo ROM on NAND at the same time.

Q2-OKAY, HOW DO I GET IT?

A-From the Android development section. It's a sticky near the top. Be sure to download the latest version for the most compatability.

Q3-GOT IT, FLASHED IT...NOW WHAT?

A-Now, you either flash Android or WP7.

Q4-OKAY, BUT HOW!

A-Read the directions contained within the MAGDLR folder and your NANDroid distro. Basically they are all the same.

Q5-I HATE NANDROID! I WANT TO GO BAQ TO WINMO!

A-Fair enough, simply download the proper stock WinMo ROM for your device and flash it via MicroSD card. Please note that this WILL remove both MAGDLR AND HardSPL, so you will need to re-apply HardSPL if you want to then flash to a custom ROM.

SENSE-Alright. Personally, I like Sense. On the HD2, it works well. ESPECIALLY if you apply cOokies Home Tab, or CHT for short. CHT is an extension of Sense if you will, that adds TONS more functionality to it. I mean really, the customization and flexibility of CHT is HUGE. If you are using Sense, and NOT using CHT, you really owe it to yourself todo so. Once you use CHT you will never go back. It's that good. You can download it from the main HTC LEO section of the forums.

Now, Sense is referred to sometimes as Touchflo, Touchflo3D or Manilla...and essentially it is all of those. The main core of Sense is called Manilla, and it's been around for nigh on 4 years now. TF and TF3D where the older versions of Sense, and basically didn't work unless you had a super bare-bones ROM and a powerful device like the Diamond or Touch Pro, so essentially Sense is just an upgraded Touchflo...but it's also MUCH more than that. While Sense is mainly just a homescreen, its roots go throughout your device. Many times while using the HD2, you will find that Sense-looking programs or pages will often crop up, and that is what is supposed to happen. The only big thing that people don't like about Sense is that it does hog a bit of RAM...about 25MB under normal usage. Sense is everywhere on the HD2 and it's a real shame if you disable it for another homescreen...which brings us to...

TITANIUM-Ahhh Titanium. Windows Mobile 6.5.1 brought us Titanium, which I personally think is a really boss homescreen. If you have a WinMo smartphone device, you might know this as "Sliding Panel Homescreen". Titanium, for what it's worth, is very customizable through plugins and .net programs, but isn't compatible with older WM homescreen plugins. Titanium was basically Microsoft's attempt at making WinMo more finger friendly...and in a way worked, and in a way didn't. See, Titanium starts out on a panel in the middle, which is where all the panels can be interacted with, by scrolling the panels up or down, you bring one into focus at the middle of the screen and can click it, slide it left or right, hit switches on it etc. Not a great description, but hey, sue me. Anyways, the way that it didn't work was that at the time, Titanium was only on devices that had resistive screens, IE, all of them (the HD2 is still the only WinMo device with a capacitive screen) and trying to scroll up or down with your finger was often a game of over or under scrolling trying to get to the item you wanted...and made alot of people (me included) just use the d-pad instead, which kinda defeats the purpose. Titanium looks cool nonetheless, and doesn't use quite as much RAM as Sense, try it out and see for yourself.

TODAY SCREEN-If you have used a WinMo device from around 2-3 years ago, then you more than likely have use the standard WinMo Today screen. It’s basically just a list of things aggregated to your homescreen. Ugly, but functional. It's biggest plus is that it's HIGHLY customizable through the use of plugins. Now I know that I have said that about both Sense and Titanium, but the standard Today screen is BY FAR the most customizable. The reason for this of course, is because it's been around the longest. Seriously, switch over to the Today screen on your HD2. Now...imagine the year 2002...now look at your screen. THAT is what WinMo has looked like since Windows Mobile 2002. Seriously. Not a pretty sight is it? Not really, but through the use of plugins it can be INFINITELY useful. The entire point of the Today screen is to aggregate all your stuff, emails, appointments, missed calls, texts...everything, and show it to you at a quick glance, without having to drill too far into your device, or scroll around a whole lot. There are extensions and plugins for the Today screen like there are snakes in a sugar cane field, so be on the lookout!

SPB MOBILE SHELL-Ugh...SPB. Some swear by and it uses nothing else, others (like me) have always avoided it like the plague. SPB Mobile Shell is a complete UI replacement for much of WinMo, and it's also one of the few that costs. It's around 30USD, but with one purchase you get free updates and can re-download it as many times as you like. SPB not only replaces your homescreen, but your Start menu and most of the settings as well. It makes them all nice, bubbly and shiny...kinda like the iPhone. Personally, I hate the iPhone and everything about it, and as such I hate SPB. But that's not the only reason...SPB is a massive resource hog. Historically SPB has only run on advanced or high end devices, and even on the HD2 it's slow to start, slow to move around...it's just slow overall in my opinion. It does look pretty, and if that's what you want, then go with SPB. SPB can all be customized just like all the others by the use of modules...but these modules are rather few and far between, so there is not a whole lot there. But with CHT in the running for your homescreen, it's kinda hard to justify SPB nowadays, as CHT offer the same amount of customization, for free, and works better overall.

The real true beauty of Windows Mobile is how customizable it is. From things like fonts, to the pixel height of scroll bars...nearly EVERYTHING can be customized to death. All in all, it doesn't really matter what type of homescreen you choose, as they all offer the same basic core functionality, it all comes down to your preference. Do you want flashy? Functional? Stable? Choose accordingly:

HOMESCREEN MATRIX v1.0a(will one day be an inserted Excel spread, use this for now)

[X] represents a point towards the particular homescreen in a given area. [O] represents a point away.

HS NAME======EXPANDABILITY======STABILITY======COST======EYE CANDY

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Today......................[X].........................[X].................FREE...............[O].....

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HTC Sense................[O].........................[O]................FREE...............[X].....

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HTC Sense w/CHT......[X].........................[X]...........DONATIONWARE......[X].....

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SPB Mobile Shell.........[O].........................[O]...........30USD PER LISC......[X].....

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Titanium...................[X].........................[O].......FREE WITH 6.5.1.........[O].....

Now eventually I am going to merge these posts together...and the formatting will be correct! And the color will eventually come back aswell. Stay tuned for more updates!