Rooting non-standard Android

Do not flash recovery

DSTL1 / N21 owners, DO NOT FLASH RECOVERY.
Our recovery is different from HTC models. If you wish to figure out the internals of recovery you need to learn how to unpack.

If you have not heeded my warning and flashed your recovery, do not despair.
Use my original DSTL1-recovery.zip

Or Slemmen's original N21-recovery.zip

Don't forget to unzip and then rename to recovery.img and then place in update folder.

This is the original DSTL1 / N21 recovery, no modifications as of yet.

P.S. they are exactly the same

You should not have a problem, unless you specifically attempted to flash recovery.

The DSTL1 is partitioned this way:

cat /proc/mtd
dev: size erasesize name
mtd0: 00100000 00020000 "Bootloader"
mtd1: 00400000 00020000 "boot"
mtd2: 00400000 00020000 "recovery"
mtd3: 05000000 00020000 "system"
mtd4: 01000000 00020000 "JFFS"
mtd5: 08000000 00020000 "userdata"
mtd6: 006a0000 00020000 "cache"
mtd7: 00080000 00020000 "BBT"

When you updated using my ROOT package you flashed the "system". I am referring to "recovery".

Once I get a chance to hack "recovery" then DSTL1 users can begin to start using nice tools like those included in RA_Mon's Recovery Image (which is based off of Cyanogen's Recovery Image).

Knock Off DSTL1

Woah! Looks like re-branded DSTL1 (aka knock off) has entered the scene: http://phandroid.com/2009/10/26/knock-knock-whos-there-sciphone/ SciPhone N21

I wonder if anyone has it. I wonder if my root package will work on their phone - should be same hardware a slightly different Android build... Would be cool to know! Anyone?

DSTL1 clones

jlcd said:

And there's one more...

http://www.mobile-review.com/pda/review/roverpc-twin.shtml


I've sent an email to an N21 owner.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Woah! Good to know! It looks like Russian RoverPC has 850 band! I don't think my device has the 850 band

By the pictures it looks like their firmware is General Mobile's! Which means my update will surely work on all cloned models... give or take language settings.

I am working on a Recovery image for the DSTL1 (there is progress).

In the meantime, I ADB ROOT is possible for both Recovery and ROM... I have not released these because I don't think anyone needs them - they are mostly used by developers or to implement some sort of hack.

I will hold off on releasing a ROM build / Recovery image with ADB ROOT unless someone has a good reason for it. (PM me)

Please note that one can attain root in adb simply by typing "su" in the console and hitting "allow" on their device.

Remember, although DSTL1 users can now enjoy root it will only be beneficial to everyday users in the form of programs that require root. Otherwise you should hold off doing all the other cool root things you have been reading about (i.e. upgrading to someone else's ROM or Recovery)

Although if you are feeling brave, by all means experiment and share your findings here - but I warned you

-crzyruski

Manufacturer revelations...

The DSTL1 was actually designed by a company called Yuhua. The board is called the X2. Found here: http://www.yuhuatel.com/english/x2.php Even Yuhua's site is sporting General Mobile's imagery, which must mean that General Mobile contracted the company to design them a phone or Yuhua actually stole General Mobile's better phone renders.

Which explains why there are a bunch of clones popping up. The question I am interested in getting answered is who developed the ROM for this X2? General Mobile branded the ROM with their logo, but images of NL2 and RoverPC both show a General Mobile logo... so maybe General Mobile redistributed the ROM while Yuhua provided that hardware (design). Notice also that Yuhua's site makes no mention of a Dual Sim architecture, but all the clones have it.

The hardware is not capable of 3G, Edge at best. But two different "band" packages are available: 900/1800/1900 MHz and 850/1800/1900 MHz

I use U.S.A.'s AT&T service with this hardware and it suffers greatly because my hardware lacks the 850 band - thus I am limited to only 1900 and AT&T's support on this band is weak (I get EDGE sometimes, mostly G). On the other hand had I gone with T-Mobile I would have been well off as they are exclusively 1900. Though I would have never reached 3G I would have been on a solid EDGE connection everywhere unlike partially with AT&T

The X2 also claims to be Digital Compass capable as well as GPS... I have seen 0 support for either - granted the phone comes lacking Google Experience applications, I have tried other software (i.e. Waze) that rely on GPS and they have failed. My goals are to get GPS working as it is a necessity to me - probably via external GPS and BlueTooth connection once General Mobile releases a 1.6 update.

As a side note the device is also available in CDMA flavor, but in silver. You can see the silver phone renders are all small unlike the black GSM one and none of them have a DSTL1 or General Mobile insignia.
http://www.yuhuatel.com/english/x2cdma.php

wiki for DSTL1

I encourage you all to read and update the wiki for DSTL1

http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

So who came first?

Honestly, another distributor?
Looks like QoolComm carries a few YuhuaTel devices...

They have:

• X1 - which looks just like the Yuhua Xphone...
• X2 - which looks just like the DSTL1, N21, and RoverPC Twin...
• X3 - which looks kinda unique... for now.

Google Apps possible

DSTL1 is crippled (kinda) without Google Applications... It does not originally come with them, but that does not mean it does not support them in some form. The groundwork is there, you just need the apk installation.

Proof from /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml:

<library name="com.android.im.plugin"
file="/system/framework/com.android.im.plugin.jar"/>
<library name="com.google.android.maps"
file="/system/framework/com.google.android.maps.jar"/>
<library name="com.google.android.gtalkservice"
file="/system/framework/com.google.android.gtalkservice.jar" />

I will make a ROM release that will include Google Maps. And hopefully the IM plugin and GTalk will work out also.

-crzyruski

Welcome

@sfabris
Hope you will join us soon.

Since you are ordering from China I assume you will be receiving the N21?

Currently my package has not worked out as expected for one N21 owner - lack of root access which the point. We are brainstorming solutions. One option is to enable ADB ROOT

-crzyruski

About this thread.
This actually an inappropriate location for this thread - this is supposed to be an HTC only forum - but no one has yelled at me for it... yet. I posted here because the advanced modding / hacking community.

Now about my views for this phone.
I was looking for a simultaneous dual SIM phone for a while. As soon as I heard of a device that ran Android I was sold.

There are drawbacks:

• Manufacturer doesn't have deep pockets for good support
• Less support from the hacker/mod community - because it is not HTC and not as popular
• -We hope for change and we are making stride
• Proprietary ROM - no ROM source
• HTC has ADP1 source from which most mods are based
• General Mobile is the only source of support for the DSTL1 and it's clones - correct me if I'm wrong
• Cupcake (1.5) does not handle screen resolution well - Donut (1.6) will fix this
• Hardware may not be the best - but this is speculation
• -Lack of GPS
• -Lack of 850 band makes for not the best AT&T (USA) coverage - Tmobile (USA) probably better
• -Lack of 3G

Most of this is a temporary problem, except for hardware... Hopefully external Blue Tooth GPS solution will work.

Now for the Pros:

• Simultaneous SIM is very useful
• -one SIM can be an "always on" data connection - except when using wifi (but this is a function of code)
• -seperate business from personal
• -international SIM and local SIM
• -regular SIM and pay as you go SIM
• 624 should be faster than the standard 528Mhz going around
• - this will be overpowered by future 1Ghz
• 5.0MP Camera + Flash is nice too

This is just what I have observed, others feel free to correct me.

Overall:
I like it! I just wish there were more mods for it like HTC devices, but this something we'll just have to pioneer.