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July 20, 2012 By: FallenWriter
Jelly Bean is seemingly spreading like the plague—no matter what you do, someone finds a way to give it to your device. However, unlike the plague, we actually look forward to Jelly Bean spreading.
We told you a few days ago how the Galaxy SII i9100G (OMAP) had received Jelly Bean. Now thanks to XDA Forum Member kalgecin, the original, Exynos-bearing variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II is now welcome at the Jelly Bean party.
So far the ROM is in the early Alpha stages of development and features:
WORKING
[-] Boot
[-] Bluetooth (reconnects sometimes)
[-] GSM/DATA
NOT WORKING
[-] Sound
[-] WiFi
[-] 3G
[-] Camera
[-] H/W accelerator
[-] ADB debugging doesn’t start automatically if switched on with cable pluged in
As always when using an Alpha stage, source build remember that there are unexpected bugs that will creep up and cause problems. Also, as this is not a daily driver ROM, the developer request that you submit logcats and know how to use ODIN (or Heimdall) in case the ROM fails to boot.
If you’re a developer looking to contribute and get this bad boy fully functional or a user looking to be a tester, head on over to the original thread and give it a go.
July 11, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
As of late, the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 has been running into some problems. Not only is there a hard brick bug from a leaked kernel that no one should ever flash, but the bug affects many users differently. Some may be hard bricked, while others may only be soft bricked. There are many users who’ve already flashed the kernel and don’t know how to get rid of it. All in all, the LQ5 leak is quite dangerous.
The problem is a little complicated. When users flash the LQ5 leak from Samsung, they are flashing a kernel that has a hard brick bug. The bug is activated upon attempting to flash anything from recovery and from performing a factory reset. Basically, don’t wipe, format, or flash anything. For more info, XDA Developer Admin and Elite Recognized Developer pulser_g2 has written up an important announcement accessible from the link above. If you have not already gotten bricked in some way from it, there is also instructions on how to safely flash away from it.
For those who were fortunate enough to get only a soft brick out of it, XDA Forum Member d.fx may have a solution for you. Keep in mind that this will not work for hard bricked devices. For those that have only been soft bricked, d.fx’s solution is likely your best option. Luckily, the process is not complicated. Users are directed to flash a modified PIT file via Odin to the device. The hope is to create a new data partition. As d.fx explains:
What you need to do if you’re in the same situtation i was into (make sure of it) is to flash a modified pit file which is gonna create a new data partition on your internal sdcard, leaving the faulty one aside, and thus getting a brand new data partition which is gonna make your phone work again, but at the cost of having a smaller internal SD. Other than that, your phone should work exactly as it did.
After flashing the PIT file, users are instructed to flash a purely stock image via Odin to restore functionality to the phone. Afterward, users are to perform a factory reset. When it’s all said and done, the Galaxy S II should be back to proper working order except the internal storage will have less space, as the corrupted data partition will never be recovered. It won’t solve the majority of the problems, as the majority get hard bricked. Even for soft bricked users, the workaround may only be temporary. As XDA Elite Recognized Developer Entropy512 explains:
The way to think of it is: When eMMC damage occurs, usually the partition that is wiped and regions of the chip immediately adjacent to it get damaged.
If you repartition such that the damaged region is not used, you may be able to restore operation. However, if you do another wipe, you may crater an additional chunk of the chip. Also, it is unknown how the wear leveller will behave as the undamaged space is used – it may interact negatively with the damaged regions over time. Many users who have implemented repartitioning workarounds indicated that their phone acted strangely for a while, and I believe some experienced more severe failures over time.
For additional details and download links, go to the original thread.
July 10, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
The march of Jelly Bean across XDA has reached a fevered pitch since it was first announced at Google I/O 2012. With a number of devices receiving a port of the new version of Android on the rise and more expected in the future now that Jelly Bean source was released, Jelly Bean has certainly hit with a splash. For Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 and HTC EVO 3D users, there isn’t an AOSP version of Jelly Bean yet. However, there is a SDK port users can check out to preview JB.
The Galaxy S II port is a little rough as expected for an alpha release but it does have a number of things working. The list includes:
device boot
LED-flash
SD card (internal-only)
MTP (can’t copy files)
ADB
Vibration
SuperUser
SM (courtesy of bpear96)
Network Data (courtesy of stormtroopercs)
logcat (courtesy of edint3000 & bpear96, again)
While the list of things that still need fixed include:
WiFi
Bluetooth
Camera
Google Now/Google Search
Audio
anything else.
XDA Senior Member LastStandingDroid is spearheading the effort, but there are a lot of XDA members and developers working on the project. With the hardest part—getting it to boot—out of the way, it’s all a matter of fixing the individual problems until the ROM is stable. It is not ready for daily driver use yet, but a few fixes here and there and it will be.
For the EVO 3D, XDA Senior Member ognimnella is heading up the project which already has a number of contributors, developers, and testers helping out. There are a lot of problems with the ROM. For instance, it doesn’t boot yet. On the initial release, developers could get to a frozen boot animation but not far enough to get a logcat. The logcat problem has been fixed so far, and has allowed the developers to truly begin the process of making everything work. It should be noted that this ROM is for developers only at this point. Users should not flash unless they are looking to help in some way with the development. Nevertheless, Jelly Bean being ported is always good news.
For Galaxy S II owners, you can get a taste of Jelly Bean from the SGS2 JB thread. EVO 3D owners can head to the EVO 3D development thread.
Edit 7/15/2012
Good news for EVO 3D users. The development team responsible for the EVO 3D Jelly Bean port have released a couple of updates bringing into the world of the living. The new list of things working are:
3G
SMS
Bluetooth (turns on)
Light sensor
There’s still quite a few things that don’t work, but it is now stable enough to be considered an alpha release and not a developer-only release!
June 26, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
It has been a long time coming. Many Samsung Galaxy S II owners have been clamoring for an HTC Sense port for a while now, with over 1500 users asking for it. There have been several attempts made with bits and pieces coming in, but the Galaxy S II has never had a bootable HTC Sense port. Now, not only is there a bootable Sense port, but it’s Sense 4.0—the latest and greatest version to date.
It took a lot of teamwork to get it this far. XDA Senior Member QuBe2 has kept track of all involved in the project and it’ll like be a lot more before the port is fully functional. So far the team, dubbed Team Sense4All, has gotten the ROM booting but aside from that, it isn’t quite clear what works and what doesn’t. It can be ascertained from screen shots, though, that data and phone service are among the things not working.
From here, it can be expected the development to start speeding up. One of the trickiest parts of getting any port to work properly is booting for the first time. From there, it’s fixing bugs until everything is working. So users looking forward to using Sense on the Galaxy S II will have to remain patient for now, as the ROM is developer-only at this point and will not cut it as a daily driver. As always, any developers who want to make the process less painful are more than free to jump in and help.
For more information, head over to the original thread.
May 29, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
What an exciting ride it has been for the Samsung Galaxy S III. The device was first rooted by XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire sight unseen and well before release. Then, as you may recall, we reported on the firmware leak for the device.
Subsequently, we saw a plethora of porting efforts that used the newly acquired leaked firmware to bring joy to older devices. Now, Samsung has extended the kindness yet again with an official firmware release for the SGS3. The previously leaked firmware build for the SGS3 came in at version I9300XXALE8. However, the officially released firmware weighs in at 9300XXALE9.
It is unclear at this time what, if anything, has changed between XXALE8 and XXALE9. The firmware itself is carrier unbranded, and is based on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Naturally, it also features Samsung’s newly renovated TouchWiz user interface, which we took a look at in our hands-on with the SGS3 at Samsung Unpacked 2012.
Samsung Galaxy S III Official Firmware
Base Firmware: I9300XXALE9 (4.0.4)
Region Africa
Country: Algeria
Carrier: Unbranded
Build Date: May 2012
Modem: XXLE9
CSC: OJVALE7
Change List: Coming SoonInstructions For Flashing Firmware:
- Extract the firmware
- Open the included Odin
- Put your device in Recovery MODE (Home + Volume up + Power)
- Wipe Data/Factory reset
- Wipe Cache
- Take Out Your battery & put it back in
- Put your device into Download MODE (Home + Volume Down + Power)
- Click PDA and select *.tar.md5
- Then finally click START!
The Samsung Galaxy S II I9100G, which is the TI OMAP-based variant of the SGS2, also joins in on the official ICS fun. Samsung has released the official ICS firmware version I9100GXXLPQ for the device.
Base Firmware: I9100GXXLPQ (4.0.3)
Country India
Carrier: Unbranded
Build Date: 22 May 2012
Modem: GODDLP5
CSC: GODDLP7
Change List: 607196Instructions For Flashing ICS:
- Extract the firmware
- Open the included Odin
- Put your device in Recovery MODE (Home + Volume up + Power)
- Wipe Data/Factory reset
- Wipe Cache
- Take Out Your battery & put it back in
- Put your device into Download MODE (Home + Volume Down + Power)
- Click PDA and select *.tar.md5
- Then finally click START!
Both the SGS3 and SGS2 I9000G builds originate from SamMobile, and were so generously posted here by XDA Recognized Developer Faryaab, who has brought us various leaked and official firmware releases in the past.
Those looking to officially upgrade their I9000G should check out the I9000G thread. Those looking to download the official SGS3 ROM and use it as a base for further development and porting should proceed to the SGS3 thread.
[Big thanks to Faryaab for the tip!]
May 23, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
With the Galaxy S III firmware leak, it was expected to see some of it ported to other devices. It began with the porting and removal of S-Voice, only to see its triumphant return. With the trouble that has brought, perhaps its time to check out a less dramatic, but still totally awesome port. Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 owners now have access to the Galaxy S III TouchWiz launcher.
XDA Forum Member Smando has brought the SGS3 TouchWiz Launcher port to the Galaxy S II. The launcher looks really nice and is pretty slick. Unfortunately, it only works on Samsung based ROMs, so those running AOSP can’t taste the Galaxy S III goodness just yet.
The launcher comes in a recovery-flashable update.zip, so installing is a breeze. Users then have two options: They can either choose the stock launcher with a 4×5 layout—4 columns and 5 rows—or a modified one that’s 5×5. The release has already received some updates to get some things fixed such as the layout of the widgets page. However, users will still get force closes on some 4×4 widgets, so it’s not perfect quite yet. This is still a great way for Galaxy S II users to check out the Galaxy S III’s software goodness.
For additional information and downloads, hit up the original thread.
In today’s Quick Take of This Week in Development, Jordan covers all the noteworthy articles from the XDA Portal. As Jordan discusses, the most important articles were about the Samsung Galaxy S III. This weekend the Galaxy S III was rooted, official stock firmware was leaked, Samsung S Voice was ripped, and the first custom ROM was released. In related news, the older Samsung Galaxy S II and Note have a serious bug that could brick your device.
Jordan then talks about CM9 Alpha arriving for the Droid X2. Finally, Jordan mentions our new Pro Tip series on XDA TV. All said, this is another video you don’t want to miss!
May 20, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
It’s almost assumed that when the stock firmware is released for a highly anticipated device, developers will jump through hoops to make it work for their devices. As is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S III firmware, which was leaked yesterday. Developers have been getting their hands on it to give the users of their phone some SGS III love. Of course, it is assumed that the first thing to start making its rounds around the forum would be Samsung’s S Voice.
Originally posted for the International Galaxy Note by XDA Senior Member Zanr Zij, which showed that S Voice worked on the Note and probably many other Samsung Galaxy S devices, the S Voice has begun slowly making its way from device to device as users figure out whether or not it works for them.
Fortunately, XDA Senior Member dolcedavinci was brave enough to give it a shot and found out that the proprietary Samsung app actually does work on the HTC One S. And of course, this means that it doesn’t require any Samusng-specific framework and will likely work on many, many other devices as well. Installation is simple, just install the apk and give it a whirl.
For additional information, check out the Galaxy Note thread where you’ll find the download link to the apk for S Voice. You can also check out the One S thread to see it working for the HTC phone. Since you can just install the app like any other apk, and thus uninstall it easily, there’s no risk in trying this for yourself on your own device!
May 18, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
While mounting NTFS may not be the first feature users line up for when buying an Android phone, it can certainly be useful at times. For those out there who may be thinking of mounting an NTFS USB key or hard drive to their Android devices, you actually now have an app for that.
XDA Forum Member Kwull has release NTFS Mounter that does what it says and automatically mounts NTFS drives when plugged in. Currently, the app is known to support the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, and the International Galaxy Note. However, to work on these devices, the user must be running a rooted ICS ROM with a kernel that has the fuse driver. For people who don’t feel like looking, you can use the CF-Root Kernel by XDA Elite Recognized Developer Chainfire on the Galaxy S II. Says Kwull:
2. The app installs ntfs-3g if it does not exist in the system
3. App receives MEDIA_NOFS event and tries to mount all unmounted /dev/sdXXX devices as NTFS volumes
4. Does not mount NTFS formated SD card, yet
One of the most interesting planned features is to one day allow users to format their external SD cards using NTFS. This will eliminate the low file size limit in FAT32, and may even help performance in certain cases.
To get started, visit the original thread.
May 6, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
Users and developers alike are still getting used to Ice Cream Sandwich. And while the adaptation period has taken a little longer than with prior versions of Android, progress is being made in getting used to the new OS and its new tools. Developers and themers alike often have to compile and decompile apk files in order to apply their themes and modifications. However, many have had issues decompiling Samsung ICS system apk files.
Luckily, those working on the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 now have a modified version of APKTool. XDA Forum Member xtremesv found and tested a modified version that is capable of editing the Galaxy S II system.apk file and similar files, which have been the bane of many themers and modders. The functionality and usability of APKTool hasn’t been changed much, but has been expanded to allow users to work with these difficult files a little bit more easily. Says xtremesv:
Some people are still having problems de/compiling system apks on Samsung ICS builds, most of the errors arising are related to “bad magic values”. I googled a little and managed to find a modded Apktool. I’ve tested it and it has worked fine so far with many apks (e.g. framework-res, TouchWiz30Launcher, etc).
That’s not all though. Some apk files require a little special attention. So if the modified APKTool doesn’t decompile an app, you may have to decompile it with the original APKTool provided by xtremesv, and then recompile using the modified APK Tool. A little complicated? Yes. Does it work? You betcha. Additionally, since the modified APKTool wasn’t designed specifically for the Galaxy S II, any users having difficulties with ICS apks may want to give it a shot as well.
If you’re having problems with ICS apk files and are looking for solutions, check out the original thread for more details.
While many folks seem to enjoy the MIUI look and feel, not everyone wishes to run the actual ROM itself. Often times, users end up going back to the ROMs designed more specifically for their phones. However, some end up missing the look and feel of MIUI. These problems have been eased by porting the MIUI Music Player and a root-enabled version of its File Explorer, but overall device look and feel is most heavily influenced by the launcher.
For users of the Samsung Galaxy S II, you can now have the MIUI look and experience without actually running MIUI thanks to XDA Senior Member ZACQ8, who brings the launcher from MIUI’s official website to devices running TouchWiz-based ICS ROMs.
The mod itself, which is an easy to install .apk, brings the MIUI launcher to the stock TouchWiz experience by giving users the MIUI Control Panel, from which users can opt to use the MIUI Launcher and even a few other fun settings. Once set, you’re good to go, and any MIUI themes you have downloaded will be usable.
The only issue? Well, it’s not a permanent setting and you will have to go back and set it after every reboot. For most, that’s no big deal. While it was originally meant for Galaxy S II, it’s not impossible to believe that this may work other ICS TouchWiz ROM. Since it’s just an .apk, there shouldn’t be any real danger in attempting it on other ICS TouchWiz devices to see if it works for you as well.
If it’s the MIUI experience you want without the MIUI ROM, check out the launcher thread to get started.
April 17, 2012 By: Joseph Hindy
Kernels are wondrous and, for many, mysterious pieces of software to install. By just changing the kernel, users can have access to overclocking, battery saving, undervolting, a number of schedulers, and other fun features. If a kernel is messed up, it can affect anything from the battery life and camera functionality, even down to WiFi not being able to connect with incompatible or broken modules. Kernels are very important, but in most cases, unless you’re the kernel dev, there aren’t really many ways to access and tweak the settings of the kernel. Until now, that is.
Bringing even more good news to SGS2 owners, XDA Senior Member xan and XDA Elite Recognized Developer gokhanmoral bring an application that will gives Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 users the opportunity to see and change kernel functions to their liking. Unfortunately, users need a supported kernel to use this, but the developers have provided the documentation to gain support from kernel devs and thus give end users more kernel control than they have ever had. With the Apache Licensing giving regular developers the opportunity to make their own applications based on the app, pretty much any and all developers can get on the action.
The application is shaping to offer great functionality, such as the ability to modify things such as GPU frequency. The application is still in beta, however, so there are even more features to come. That said, this is an awesome application already and any future releases will only add even more functionality.
For additional information, screen shots, download links and more, check out the development thread.
April 17, 2012 By: jerdog
The Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 was one of the most celebrated phones of 2011 and is still very highly regarded today, with over 10 million units sold. While many of the owners of this device have been happy, they’ve been eagerly awaiting the official update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Samsung has been gradually rolling out these updates, but previously this has only gone to carrier-branded phones. Now Samsung UK lets us know that they have been working extremely hard at getting the update out to all of their devices, including those purchased unlocked:
Samsung UK has been working as hard as possible over the last few weeks to get Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) rolled out to all our Galaxy S II customers. We can confirm that ‘XEU/sim-free’ and all network upgrades are now complete except for Orange and T-Mobile which will follow as soon as possible, pending software testing and approvals. Thanks again for your patience.
This is certainly good news. If you would like to learn more, head over to the discussion thread.
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