Some beginner questions

ZombieLee · Aug 17, 2014

I have a Bell SGH-i747m.

Is it ok to flash i747 roms to an i747m? I've been doing some reading and it looks like what could go wrong is that it could change the modem. In that case can I install any i747 rom and if I find issues change the modem following the info from this thread?: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1831898

I've already installed Cyanogenmod using the automatic tool. Can I flash roms while Cyanogenmod is installed or should they be flashed from a stock firmware? (as a side note I have installed and flashed Clockworkmod Recovery)

Are there any issues flashing roms based off of other carriers? (Rogers based rom flashed to a bell phone)

How do I make sure I'm not downgrading my bootloader and bricking my phone?

Finally, are there any comprehensive lists to find nice custom ROMs and their features or is it just kind of a game of picking through the forums? What are your favorites or what are you using currently?

audit13 · Aug 17, 2014

I'm not an expert but I'll try to answer your questions.

You can flash i747 ROMs onto an i747m but you cannot flash i747 modems and bootloaders on an i747m.

There is no need to return to stock before flashing a new ROM. You may have to wipe cache, data, Dalvik, and system before flashing the new ROM.

You can flash stock Rogers and Telus ROMs to your phone and it will work.

Make sure you are aware of a file's contents before flashing to ensure the bootloader and modem are designed specifically for your phone.

DocHoliday77 · Aug 17, 2014

Imo, modems should never be included with a rom. And thankfully I have never come across one, so you dont really have to worry about that.

I agree with audit13 on everything but one small point. Unless under specific circumstances, I dont feel formatting /system before flashing a rom is a good idea. All roms do that as the first step in the flash so its already covered that way. But more importantly, ive seen lots of people format, then have an error and cannot flash their rom. They are then left with no OS on the device. Ive also seen several times where they ended up having to flash their firmware via odin and start over completely.
I know some will disagree with me on that, but I just dont see any real benefit to manually formatting the system partition.

ZombieLee · Aug 17, 2014

Thanks guys

I'm looking at Dirty Unicorn http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s3-att/development/rom-dirty-unicorns-t2844362

Assuming I don't have to worry about the modem, is there anything I have to worry about with the bootloader? I don't see one specified and I don't know what bootloader I would have right now.

Also I've been reading that gapps are just google apps. It sounds like you just flash the gapps file the same way you flash the rom. Is this right?

And lastly, is there ever any issue with flashing a rom thats based off an earlier android version than the one you are currently using?

audit13 · Aug 17, 2014

From a terminal windows, this should tell you the bootloader on your phone:

su
getprop ro.bootloader

ZombieLee · Aug 17, 2014

Thanks

My bootloader is I747MVLUEMK5 . Looking in the about phone section in settings that is the same as my baseband. Are the bootloader and baseband related? How would I tell if its compatible with Dirty Unicorn?

audit13 · Aug 18, 2014

Look at the updater script in the ROM as it will tell you what bootloaders are supported.

You can always try flashing and see of it works. Make as nandroid before flashimg the new ROM

ZombieLee · Aug 19, 2014

I was able to flash DU and I'm using it now, however I'm experiencing some huge battery drain (25%/hr normal use)

I think its possible I did not clear everything correctly before I flashed. I've read the old rom can conflict with the new one if its not completely wiped which might kill the battery. I did a wipe fata/factory reset, wipe cache partition, and wipe dalvik like most guides described.

Reading the post on the DU G+ space https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109738128866939227235 however, it says

6. Wipe everything. This doesn't mean just system or factory settings. This means EVERYTHING!

Tap on Wipe/Advanced Wipe and check the following and swipe to wipe

- Dalvik Cache
- Cache
- Data
- Internal Storage
- System
- MicroSD (some devices don't have this option)

I'm not sure how to wipe data, internal storage, micro sd, or system. I saw there were some options to format these areas in CWM, but I didn't want to do anything hasty.

I'm also confused because if I format both my MicroSD and Internal Storage I will have deleted my rom file, and my phone doesn't seem to connect to my computer while in recovery if I need to put the file back on the phone.

DocHoliday77 · Aug 19, 2014

Choose "format data". This will wipe the entire /data partition including your internal sd card, so make sure youve backed up everything first!

ZombieLee · Aug 19, 2014

DocHoliday77 said:
Choose "format data". This will wipe the entire /data partition including your internal sd card, so make sure youve backed up everything first!

Thanks! To be clear, this means I'll store my backup and rom on my external SD card and direct CWM to the zip from there?

DocHoliday77 · Aug 20, 2014

If you are asking if you need to store your backups on external sd, yes. It wont touch the external storage unless you specifically tell it to.

Topics

Topics

Some beginner questions

ZombieLee

Member

audit13

Inactive Recognized Contributor

DocHoliday77

Senior Member

ZombieLee

Member

audit13

Inactive Recognized Contributor

ZombieLee

Member

audit13

Inactive Recognized Contributor

ZombieLee

Member

DocHoliday77

Senior Member

ZombieLee

Member

DocHoliday77

Senior Member

Similar threads

Top Liked Posts

New posts