The PACMan ROM is catching on here on XDA and we couldn’t be happier about it. For those who still don’t know, PACMan ROM is an AOSP-based ROM that includes bits and pieces from CyanogenMod 10, AOKP, and ParanoidAndroid. So you get all the perks of all three ROMs, including ParanoidAndroid’s unique tablet mode. Now, the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II can get in on the action.

XDA Senior Member gs2usr has released the mash up ROM for the T-Mobile Galaxy S II. It features everything we’ve come to expect from PACMan, including CM settings, AOKP settings, and ParanoidAndroid settings. It also comes with init.d support. Here’s what isn’t working:

CM10/ AOKP bugs
Some Feature Missing (to be added in future)
Find a new bug? report in the thread

So whatever bugs you may find in AOKP and CM10, you’ll also find in this ROM. In their respective threads, CM10 and AOKP don’t seem to have any major bugs. Users are reporting that the ROM works really well, except the aforementioned missing settings. That will be fixed in future releases. So this is definitely daily driver material. It is definitely a great ROM to check out if you want to see all that current AOSP has to offer.

For more details, check out the original thread.

It is one thing when there is a software fault with a device. Software faults can usually be fixed either by the OEMs or, well, by us here at XDA. Hardware faults, though, are a whole lot more difficult to deal with. In some instances, like with the HTC One X hardware issue, it forces many people to return their devices. Another device with an annoying hardware fault is the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II.

An issue that seems to be getting more common is the power button sticking when pressed. This throws the phone into a boot loop that lasts until the button becomes unstuck. XDA Forum Member evilmika made a list of the symptoms for users to check and see if they have this problem:

1. Black screen with intermittent vibrating
2. Phone restarts during boot animation
3. Unable to enter recovery before phone restarts
4. Unable to enter download mode before restart
5. USB JIG forces phone into download mode and restart occurs
6. Phone turns on when battery is inserted

There isn’t an official fix, or even a very good one. However, evilmika has posted a short guide that will at least alleviate the problem until a better fix is found. Essentially, users would tear down their phone based on the official iFixit tutorial and use a tool to separate the power button cover away from the mechanical button. It’s likely that this process will eventually have to be repeated, but temporary relief is still relief. Also, this does require that you disassemble your phone, so use the utmost caution when doing so.

For more details, check out the original thread.

Many Samsung Android users rely pretty heavily on Odin or its Linux / OSX counterpart Heimdall. This isn’t an overly big deal as both applications are stable for the most part and do the job. However, if you’re going to be rooting and hacking your device, you should probably get used to things like Terminal commands anyway. Aside from the obvious fact that learning such commands are useful, learning to use them can mean not having to increase your flash counter any more than absolutely necessary. T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II users can now do this by installing recovery from command line.

Written up by XDA Senior Member PorchSong, the method is pretty easy to follow. Users are directed to go to the official ClockworkMod Recovery website and download a recovery image for their device. From there, place it on your internal SD card, and use Terminal Emulator to flash it.

Aside from showing users how it’s done, PorchSong also explains what the commands mean. So if you choose to follow the guide, you’ll get acquainted with the dd command and its usage. Learning anything regarding Terminal can be potentially useful for anyone with a rooted Android phone. Additionally, this method could be used on any Samsung device. All you’d need is the proper recovery image and the location of the proper partition.

To learn more, check out the original thread.

Improvements in technology always bring new challenges to developers. Of course, improving technology can bring rehashes of previous challenges to solve once again. One such challenge is battery life. With the release of dual core and quad core phones, the additional cores present a double edged sword. Multiple cores improve performance in certain situations dramatically, but most of the time they also require more power to operate. Taming the multi-core processors to provide better battery life has been the challenge for quite some time now, and many devices have solutions. Now, the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II has one as well.

The script, which was written by XDA Recognized Developer eugene373 helps improve battery life by turning one of the two cores of the T-Mobile Galaxy S II off when the screen turns off. This lowers power consumption while screen is off, without compromising performance when the screen is on. The only drawback is that it’s only compatible with AOSP-based ROMs for the T-Mobile Galaxy S II. This means users running stock software won’t be able to use it.

For more information, visit the original thread.

Given the convenience of all-in-one tool kits such as what we previously covered for the Galaxy Nexus, it would make sense for multi-purpose tool kits to show up on other devices. And now thanks to the efforts of XDA Forum Member ajster1989, the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II has one as well.

The tool kit helps users do a variety of tasks including achieving root, adding a custom recovery, installing kernels, side-loading apk files, and much more. The feature list is quite comprehensive and includes:

- At start it checks to see if USB Drivers is installed, if it’s not installed will download and installs Kies for you. (This insures that your USB Drivers are correctly installed)
- At start it checks for USB debugging connection to ADB
- Phone selection menu to chose which SGS II phone you have, and set’s tool kit up for that phone.
- Only downloads the files for the phone you select (Currently only T989)
- Guides you through installing CWM
- Guides you through Rooting your device
- Guides you through Flashing a Custom ROM
- Guides you through Flashing back to STOCK (Auto downloads when needed)
- Reboots Recovery and Download
- Side Load APK’s
- Keeps track of your current phone, last flashed recovery, last flashed rom.

While most all-in-one tool kits seem to share the same core group of features, one particularly interesting feature in this particular one is the ability to keep track of what you have done with your device. While this may be helpful as a log of sorts, it’s also interesting to measure just how much of a flashaholic you really are. The developer is also working to port the toolkit to all other SGS2 variants.

For additional information, head over to the original thread.

For many devices, getting a custom recovery installed can be tricky business. Sometimes you have to flash it in the bootloader, other times you have to flash it over ODIN, and other times yet you download a recovery-flashable update.zip. While none of these are inherently difficult, it would be nice to have an easier way. Thankfully T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II owners now have an app to make recovery switching easy.

Easy Recovery Switcher by XDA Recognized Developer starskyrob is actually as easy to use as the name implies. Users are given two options. The first is a Windows application that accomplishes the task via a USB connection, and the second is an Android application that does it right from your phone. The Windows application is what you’d expect from a one-click tool, but the Android app—which is still in beta testing right now—is actually pretty cool. Users have an option between TWRP, ClockworkMod and Touch-Enabled ClockworkMod. Users only have to select which version they want to have installed. It doesn’t get much easier than that. It should be noted, though, that backups may not be compatible across the various recoveries—so when you switch, don’t forget to recreate your Nandroid.

For downloads and instructions, head on over to the application thread.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that one of your creations is universally appreciated and instantly popular. These are feats that pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber can’t even manage to accomplish, as they are disliked worldwide by everyone over 25 and even many of the younger generation. However here on XDA, there are those releases that are universally loved and highly anticipated. And surprisingly, they’re not always a hit ROM or a root process.

For the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II, that release was an accelerometer fix. XDA Forum Member yaldak has released the accelerometer fix for the T-Mo SGS II, fixing accelerometer functionality in ROMs derived from the leaked ICS build. The fix takes place deep within the system down at the driver level. Says yaldak:

Specifically, this fixes the accelerometer issue altogether. Its a deep fix, going down to the driver level. So games and camera work too.

This should work on all ICS leak-derivative ROMs, including my own (and will be baked into my upcoming release).
Long story short, this was made possible due to the ATT Galaxy Note leak (a cousin of the T989)
In theory we can now start pushing out functional ICS ROMs. But there is still the pesky call echo issue, looking into that.

This is great news, as it fixes one of the two major problems that ICS ROMs have apparently been having for a long time. The user response response thus far has been very impressive. With yaldak looking into the call echo issue, the T-Mo SGS II could very well have bug free ICS in the very near future. Exciting.

Additional information, download links, and instructions can be found in the modification thread. Based on the 200 thanks yaldak has gotten in the first 14 hours of this mod’s release—not joking—you can pretty much assume it’s safe.