my Computer Quest: CyanogenMod

01 February, 2015

Android 5.0 in my Samsung Galaxy Note II (N7105)

The official online color is: #A4C639 . 한국어: 공식 온라인 색은: #A4C639 . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

01-Feb-2015

Today seems a good day to write about this article... before it is forgotten...

A year or so after I flashed Android 4.4.2 ROM in my GT-N7105 phone, I started looking for some update to the OS. I believe there was one or two upgrades in the past year, and since I am getting none when I checked using my phone, I searched from the web using my PC.

Found that there is the UNOFFICIAL release for Android 5.0 - Lolllipop code name.

Read through the posts, and the found the installers. Saw that GApps is also available, so what am I waiting for?

I mean, I am more of the curious type, than the cautious one...

I went to the download sites, took the ROM and GApps files, and the supposeldy CWM recovery file that goes along with this Android 5.0 version.

It was a breeze!

But not before I had to check on how to do things altogether, I mean, after a year without actually doing it, just updates.

Which means my phone had rested for some time.

I like the new OS. Grouping of apps is naturally a function. And I found that this is already taken out from the 'All Apps' view. You cannot uninstall anymore from there. So you would have to open the apps group, and if you tap-hold, you get to drag it up to 'Uninstall' or 'Homescreen' - and it does just what you chooses. OF course, system apps would tell you that you can't do an unistallation.

Notifications also get the clear all button (is that what it is called in Android?) and you do double-tap to an item in the list to open it.

I also installed CM Launcher, after so long using Go Launcher EX. With CM Launcher, I installed Battery Doctor, to replace Green Power apps. I like CM Launcher in its simplicity. I like Battery Doctor in its verboseness of info. Charged will tell me if it is fully charged, and when it is in trickle mode, a few minutes after full charging. And when done, totally, will tell you to unplug.

For the curious one like me, here are the links:

Rooting:

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/root-galaxy-note-2-lte-gt-n7105-android-132538636.html

Lollipop ROM:

http://galaxynote2root.com/sprint-galaxy-note-2-roms/android-5-0-lollipop-rom-for-galaxy-note-2-cm12/

Lollipop GApps:

http://highonandroid.com/android-apps/download-android-5-0-lollipop-gapps/

Installing Custom ROM:

http://galaxynote2root.com/galaxy-note-2-tutorials/how-to-install-custom-rom-on-rooted-galaxy-note-2/

Odin v3.04 – 3.07 for Windows

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1728605

Salute to the team for getting ahead of the rest!

19 February, 2014

My GT-i9103 on OmniROM vs CWM ROM

SAMSUNG GALAXY R (Photo credit: Monkeyy78)

I have been using CyanogenMod ROM in my android phones for quite some time now, and perhaps I got a bit tired of it, and I started checking on the other custom ROMs.

A check on some details and features, and I was off to trying OmniROM.

To be honest, I was impressed. I am actually using it in my Samsung Galaxy Note II.

But in my Galary Royale unit, it wasn't that smooth-running as in my Note 2 phone. There is one big problem that I actually found out - and only until 2 days ago - I confirmed where it was coming from.

OmniROM causes my Galary R phone not be to recognized by my laptop. And that is some major problem to me. While the unit isn't sporting some fancy features, this problem of 'unrecognized device' occurred at some critical time: just when I was starting on my self-study of Android mobile device programming.

And I thought it was the USB driver that was the issue. Or the unit itself.

Until I tried to look for Android 4.4 from CWM.

Since the unit isn't recognized, I had to disassemble the cover and the battery out in order to remove the SD card, so I can plug it in to another adapter, insert it into my SD card slot, and copy over the zip files.

And rightly so, after flashing my Galaxy R with a CWM customer ROM, it was immediately identified by my laptop. I didn't have to verify this 'restored' USB recognition with another laptop.

At any rate, I still run into some quirky problems. Yes, quirky.

With OmniROM, I am able to get the keyboard (AOSP) up and running. That doesn't work in CWM ROM. So while I am able to get the device recognized by the PC, I am not able to get google apps working, since I cannot connect to WiFi, or enter my user credentials.

Until I again found out that my CWM ROM 4.4.x must go with the GApps 4.4.x version. I was simply 'forcing' the one I already have, JB GApps 4.3.x, to work with the new CWM 4.4.x ROM.

After several tries, and confirming that CWM ROM gets my Galary R recognized by my PC, I looked for the rightful mate, GApps 4.4.x. I did another flashing, and this time, using the two 4.4.x versions, and voila!

The unit is recognized by my laptop, and at the same time, my Google account I can enter, and my apps all restored, and all.

This is my experience, so it doesn't mean it applies to all... but then again, I believe it is not an isolated incident.

Till then!