[Nexus S Android Development] kenvan19:
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To start with, this guide assumes that your phone is rooted and has Clockwork Recovery Mod (CWM) installed. If this is not the case, please see any of the below links to get started:

Rooting without unlocking the bootloader (This method only works for 2.3.2 and below)

Allgamer's Rooting Guide

Rooting via ADB for Win7&Vista

Rooting on Ubuntu

Koush's Rooting Guide

Rooting on a Mac

W0lv3r1n3's Great Windows Rooting Guide

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Now lets get started. First, how does one install mods on Android? Lets do a NANDroid backup to begin:

1) Turn your phone off.

2) While holding the Volume Up button press the power button until the screen turns on and you will see a black screen with an Android on it and a lot of numbers and words that will mean nothing to you. This is called the Bootloader. In both the bootloader and the recovery mod you will use the volume buttons to navigate between options and the power button to select one.

3) Navigate down to Recovery option and select it.

4) Navigate down to backup and restore

5) Navigate down to backup and select it and let it run.

ROMs

:

Stock 2.3.3 Full ROM

This is just for those looking for the complete bone stock, full 2.3.3 ROM. Use it to return to stock but remember it will remove your root.

Here is the update for GRH78C!

Here is the update for GRH78 Only!

Finally, here is just the radio for 2.3.3:

For GRI54 (XXKB3)

For GRI40 (XXKB1)

Master's Stock 2.3.3 Deodexed

2.3.3

This ROM is no longer being updated. It will be removed from this list once it is no longer up-to-date with Google's OTA updates!

There's not going to be a lot you can see different here from stock, but trust me there is one very important change under-the-hood; its deodexed. For those not on the up-and-up of Android terminology let me explain: Android uses these files called odexes which make it so that things boot and load a little bit faster however these files also make it pretty darn difficult to theme anything. For this ROM, Master has gone through each and every one of those files and done the meticulous job of getting rid of all of those little files so now you're free to theme your stock ROM to your hearts content! Its available in four delicious vanilla gingerbread 2.3.3 flavors: Stock kernel rooted, Stock kernel unrooted, Voodoo Sound/Color enchanced Kernel rooted, and Voodoo Sound/Color enchanced Kernel unrooted. Yummy!

CyanogenMod 7 Nightlies

:

2.3.3

Most Stable Release: RC3

CyanogenMod is the powerhouse of ROMs for Android. It is based on Android Open Source Platform (AOSP) and adds some nice tweaks like power controls in the notification drop down panel and some nice lockscreen tweaks among many others. Its a fast and powerful ROM that also tends to have pretty decent battery life, however if you're looking for constant stability remember this ROM is no where near a final release. Its pretty stable for a nightly release, but its definitely not as stable as some of the others available.

Unlike any other ROM, when you flash CyanogenMod you must also flash a zip file called gapps which includes standard google apps. This should be done before rebooting the device but after flashing the ROM.

MIUI

2.3.3

Most Stable Release: 1.3.18

MIUI is probably one of the most different ROMs available. Its sort of a love it or hate it ROM as it has a lot of the look of iOS while also bringing a lot of interesting features to Android. The stock MIUI launcher doesn't have an app drawer but instead stores all of your apps on homescreens, much like iOS. You can make folders to store apps (and these can be placed on the dock to simulate an app drawer, and then you can sort that folder by most used or alphabetically) or you can chose to go with a 3rd party launcher. Either way, MIUI is definitely worth a flash if you're looking for a completely different take on Android.

Since MIUI is developed by a team in China, their releases are in chinese but don't fret; Markhuk over at miui-dev.com releases a language pack. This works exactly like the gapps for CM7. First you flash the ROM then flash the language pack. Its generally available in a number of languages though as of now I'm only aware of it being available in Chinese, English, Spanish, and Italian.

▽▲AXURA Nexus Edition▲▽

2.3.3

This ROM is no longer being updated. It will be removed from this list once it is no longer up-to-date with Google's OTA updates!

Master has ported his much loved Axura ROM to the Nexus and after some initial hiccups all seems to be running smoothly. This ROM is based on 2.3.3 GRI54 but is deodexed and mostly themed for your pleasure. It also includes Netarchy's extremely stable 1.2.5 stock CFS kernel out of the box so you get an extremely quick ROM mixed with a more colorful stock experience. All and all a beautiful ROM with a solid core is what you get here! Now featuring j0hnZ accurate battery mod baked right in!

Paul O'Brien's MoDaCo

:

2.3.3

Paul's ROM is definitely one of the most stable I've used and has probably the best battery life. Its very basic and is available for download in a few flavors of lightness which include either all of his tweaks, some, or none. The one annoyance I have with his ROM is the inclusion of security software that runs every boot much akin to the Windows Security center popups, something I definitely don't want on my phone. Overall though if you want a fast, stable, and basic ROM this is a great choice.

GingerS v0.8 Small

:

2.3.3

GingerS is all about being lightweight and fast. Currently it packs Netarchy's 1.2.7 CFS kernel as well as a few awesome tweaks like SIP calls over 3G. If you're looking for a very stock experience with a bit more speed, give this one a flash!

NSCollab

2.3.3

You love the awesome features of CyangenMod but you want a rom that feels a little more stock? Frank707 has you covered! This cool new ROM comes out of the box with Netarchy's 1.2.8 CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) Kernel baked right in which means you're also getting Voodoo sound and color! Unlike regular CyanogenMod this comes with all your google apps already inside, no extra flash required. Also, this hot little number is now available to download through ROM Manager premium!

ZeroXS

2.3.3

This ROM is all about the little things that truly differentiate it. On first boot you won't be shocked by a fancy boot animation, or blown away by a completely themed look, but you will find your eye drawn to the niceties included. For one, Titanium backup is pre-installed making setting this ROM up one of the easiest I've used by far. Other small theming choices include a custom themed launcher and a change to cool blue from the stock Gingerbread green. This fun ROM is for those of you looking for a very stock ROM but that has a just a hint of the flair that is running under the hood.

Super@tmel's SuperAOSP for Nexus S

2.3.3

Much like CyanogenMod, this is based directly off of the AOSP code Google pushes out but its compiled by Super@tmel rather than Team Douche. Also, much like Axura this little honey has some very nice theming touches built right in as well as a few special themes in the Theme Chooser. Many of you may know it from back on the Nexus S and now we've got a stable version here. On top of the myriad cool features in this ROM, you also get SUPsetup which among many other things, lets you do a lot of heavy customizations that would otherwise had to have been done in Root Explorer or via ADB neither of which is a fun process. Those of you who are fans of AOSP but are unfamiliar with this ROM should definitely give it a shot. Heck, everyone should try it out!

Honeycomb 3.0 Full sdk port

3.0

THIS IS VERY MUCH AN IN-DEVELOPMENT ROM AND SHOULD ONLY BE FLASHED WITH A LOT OF CAUTION AND A DASH OF BOLDNESS. IF YOU DOUBT YOUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH POSSIBLE DISASTER DO NOT FLASH THIS. I REPEAT: DO NOT FLASH THIS IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE CONSEQUENCES. Now that I've gotten the warning out of the way, this is something I'm personally very excited about; this is Android 3.0 Honeycomb (sort-of) working on the Nexus S! Now, remember, this is no where near finished and there is a lot of stuff not functioning including a few essentials like a phone/dialer app or the fact that the screen seems to flicker on and off. Don't even bother with this if you're new to flashing ROMs and are worried about your warranty, this bad boy is for experienced flashers ONLY!

Now that you've chosen a rom, how do you install it?

1) Download the ROM of your choice and place it on the root of your SD Card.

2) Boot back into your bootloader and get into recovery.

3) Navigate down to mounts and storage and select it.

4) Navigate down to format data and select it.

5) Navigate down to format cache and select it.

6) Navigate down to +++++Go Back+++++ and select it.

7) Navigate down to advanced and select it.

8) Navigate down to Wipe Dalvik Cache and select it.

9) Navigate down to +++++Go Back+++++ and select it.

10) Navigate down to install zip from sdcard and select it.

11) Navigate down to choose zip from sdcard

12) Navigate down to the ROM zip on your SD card and select it.

13) Navigate down to Yes, select it and let it run.

14) Once its done reboot your phone!

You have now installed a custom ROM!

Oh no! I'm bricked!

If you've modified your phone and have either majorly screwed something up or just want to get everything back to stock there are a few ways to do that and you can find guides here:

Stock 2.3.1 NANDroid: Use this with CWM to restore an image of the stock rom and go back to square one.

Odin back to stock: Odin is a program used by Samsung to install firmware onto handsets and this is the last ditch method for getting things working again. It will wipe all of your programs and return you to bone stock, no root no nothing.