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Root FINALLY A WORKING JELLY BEAN ROM!! Public release! Update from ICS!

Do you want more dev for this phone or is it time to let it go?

  • Total voters
    53
Would it be helpful if I created a zip which could be flashed to return all the changed partitions back to their original version, but did not include any operating system?

IE: Flash all the hardware firmware partitions, install CWM, format but leave blank /data and /system?

Pros: This would allow you to restore your backup and not have to install the boost system files. Smaller download size would be the biggest benefit of that method. Plus would revert for all carriers without prejudice. Also, I can probably work it so that stock recovery is totally unnecessary.

Cons: you must supply your own ICS ROM. Either via nandroid backup or flashable zip.

What do you guys think, is it worth the time? I think that the existing method works ok. How many people are going back to ICS after the update?..

Cheers,
-SB
 
Buzbee said:
Root with Kingo root or any other. Copy the file below to your sd card. Hold down volume down key and power key at the same time you start up the phone. When it vibrates it means it is going to go to recovery. Freedompop already has Clockwork Mod 6.0.3.0 touch recovery on it. Go to restore and backup. Backup to external sd then wipe cache, factory reset, and then install this zip from external sd card.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6y2lu3s5qlen812/ZTE_FORCE_JB_Freedompop.zip?dl=0

Known Issues:

1. ICCID in "Settings- About Phone - Status" shows as unknown (cosmetic only)
2. On first startup, when choosing the Google Now launcher rather than the launcher, it will freeze when asked to copy icons or start fresh forcing you to restart. After restarting, you are asked again to choose one and are able to continue.

If you feel like it, you may upgrade your recovery image to non touch 6.0.4.4. Everything appears to work in it.

http://androidforums.com/threads/recovery-unofficial-cwm-v6-0-4-4.749083/
Click to expand...

Sweet, so does this contain all the apps, launcher style, theming, etc. from the original Freedompop ICS rom?

Good work!

I was going to do some customizing on this and release another ROM, but I have been busy with other things and this isn't my everyday phone anymore. I would still like to do that, though. For now, and when I originally posted it, I left it as-is, debloated and with lots of carrier compatibility. That way people can do what you did and customize or make it more like their carrier's style.

Oh i just reread your post and have a question. Isn't the ROM pre-rooted? I could be mistaken (I have a terrible memory) but I thought that it was rooted by SuperR. If it's not rooted you should be able to flash the zip installer for clockwork supersuser or chainfire supersu. I would recommend that since at this point we all have CWM anyway.

I've used kingo root on hard to root strange devices with odd bootloaders, like cheap chinese android tv devices, but I think something is fishy about it. It's too good to be true, almost. It's so easy, and with the nice user interface, and supposedly benevolent and free. Well anyway, that's a personal decision. It works well at any rate.

Congrats on the ROM release! Downloading now so I can check it out.
Cheers,
-SB
 
sawbones999 said:
Would it be helpful if I created a zip which could be flashed to return all the changed partitions back to their original version, but did not include any operating system?

IE: Flash all the hardware firmware partitions, install CWM, format but leave blank /data and /system?

Pros: This would allow you to restore your backup and not have to install the boost system files. Smaller download size would be the biggest benefit of that method. Plus would revert for all carriers without prejudice. Also, I can probably work it so that stock recovery is totally unnecessary.

Cons: you must supply your own ICS ROM. Either via nandroid backup or flashable zip.

What do you guys think, is it worth the time? I think that the existing method works ok. How many people are going back to ICS after the update?..

Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...

SB,

I think the current way is fine. I tested with 'fastboot boot recovery.img' and installed the update.zip. Funny thing is, the version number still says B09 after the update.zip but it is different from the B09 version from the original release. You are, however, reminded by Sprint that there is an update available (31.2MB) . After agreeing to the update and rebooting it will now display version B13.

I have been reverting back to ics because I am trying to figure out why my freedompop phone wont display the ICCID on 4.1.2 but it will on 4.0.4. The issue is not in the build.prop like the network provider showing up as unknown was. I am rather stumped on this issue.

If you do decide to make a zip, all you have to do is edit your current updater-script and delete everything in the middle. I almost did that myself but just thought it was easier to drop and drag files from the update.zip into your JB zip.

You can restore ICS back without flashing the partitions. The OS runs but wi-fi is broken and the lock screen doesn't come back after phone falls asleep so you have to pull out battery to get it running again.
 
sawbones999 said:
Sweet, so does this contain all the apps, launcher style, theming, etc. from the original Freedompop ICS rom?

Good work!

I was going to do some customizing on this and release another ROM, but I have been busy with other things and this isn't my everyday phone anymore. I would still like to do that, though. For now, and when I originally posted it, I left it as-is, debloated and with lots of carrier compatibility. That way people can do what you did and customize or make it more like their carrier's style.

Oh i just reread your post and have a question. Isn't the ROM pre-rooted? I could be mistaken (I have a terrible memory) but I thought that it was rooted by SuperR. If it's not rooted you should be able to flash the zip installer for clockwork supersuser or chainfire supersu. I would recommend that since at this point we all have CWM anyway.

I've used kingo root on hard to root strange devices with odd bootloaders, like cheap chinese android tv devices, but I think something is fishy about it. It's too good to be true, almost. It's so easy, and with the nice user interface, and supposedly benevolent and free. Well anyway, that's a personal decision. It works well at any rate.

Congrats on the ROM release! Downloading now so I can check it out.
Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...

It comes with all the apps from Freedompop ICS, plus others like maps, Wi-Fi tether, and Google Now launcher. It is not pre-rooted yet. I have updated all the apps too. I made a lot of apps user apps instead of system apps.

This is my first attempt at a custom rom. It is not as easy just to update the system apps. I had to make certain system apps as user apps so as not to break the play store or freedompop messaging app. This is not ideal as certain ones should be system apps. The ones in question are Velvet.apk, GSMCore-Hangouts.apk, and Phonesky.apk. The latest freedompop messaging app requires a newer GSMCore to work. Freedompop updated the GSMCORE in system and it stops working on startup! Luckily, there is a newer version now and it can be updated again to work. It seems the certain updated apps works best if the old version is in system and the newer version is in userdata. When I leave the old version in system and new version in data the new version still needs to be installed manually.

I am not using eclipse as I am doing all changes manually to get a better understanding. I am also trying to figure out how Freedompop got the custom layout on the ICS homescreen without using default_workspace.xml in custom-config.
 
Buzbee said:
SB,

I think the current way is fine. I tested with 'fastboot boot recovery.img' and installed the update.zip. Funny thing is, the version number still says B09 after the update.zip but it is different from the B09 version from the original release. You are, however, reminded by Sprint that there is an update available (31.2MB) . After agreeing to the update and rebooting it will now display version B13.

I have been reverting back to ics because I am trying to figure out why my freedompop phone wont display the ICCID on 4.1.2 but it will on 4.0.4. The issue is not in the build.prop like the network provider showing up as unknown was. I am rather stumped on this issue.

If you do decide to make a zip, all you have to do is edit your current updater-script and delete everything in the middle. I almost did that myself but just thought it was easier to drop and drag files from the update.zip into your JB zip.

You can restore ICS back without flashing the partitions. The OS runs but wi-fi is broken and the lock screen doesn't come back after phone falls asleep so you have to pull out battery to get it running again.
Click to expand...

Yes, some ROMs will boot still if you don't downgrade the partitions but I would expect problems like that. I did test it myself a few times during this process.

I just googled something from the build.prop and found out that the Xperia SP is based on this SOC and with similar specs. Biggest difference is camera and the screen is 720p. I wonder if the resolution were patched if it could be made to boot. It would be nice to get all of the bravia stuff working on this phone, also the 1.7Ghz speed (which is actually the official max speed of the SOC, why ZTE chose 1.5Ghz I dunno).

Anyway, I know people who have patched kernel resolutions without recompiling from source before. I might inquire about methods used. I won't get my hopes up too much because it's a super long shot, but it would be great bc there is official support from Sony up to JB 4.3, with custom ROMs to kitkat 4.4.4.

Has anyone tried the included zte_krait_oc module to see if it's working or providing any higher speeds? I will test it. Maybe I can patch it by comparing with simillar module on another phone with this SOC, just the parts about frequency tables and voltages, bc other parts of it might be quite different.

I got it to load in ICS and to say that max speed was 1.8Ghz but as soon as you selected it, it would reboot. I think the problem is with the voltage table, or possibly with the thermald.conf. It's entirely possible that the problem was that it was from an HTC and I just patched the module code so that it would load into the ICS kernel. The thermald.conf and basically everything about that HTC was very different.

Ok, I'm rambling. gtg.
Cheers,
-SB
 
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Buzbee said:
It comes with all the apps from Freedompop ICS, plus others like maps, Wi-Fi tether, and Google Now launcher. It is not pre-rooted yet. I have updated all the apps too. I made a lot of apps user apps instead of system apps.

This is my first attempt at a custom rom. It is not as easy just to update the system apps. I had to make certain system apps as user apps so as not to break the play store or freedompop messaging app. This is not ideal as certain ones should be system apps. The ones in question are Velvet.apk, GSMCore-Hangouts.apk, and Phonesky.apk. The latest freedompop messaging app requires a newer GSMCore to work. Freedompop updated the GSMCORE in system and it stops working on startup! Luckily, there is a newer version now and it can be updated again to work. It seems the certain updated apps works best if the old version is in system and the newer version is in userdata. When I leave the old version in system and new version in data the new version still needs to be installed manually.

I am not using eclipse as I am doing all changes manually to get a better understanding. I am also trying to figure out how Freedompop got the custom layout on the ICS homescreen without using default_workspace.xml in custom-config.
Click to expand...

Yeah manually is the way to go. That combined with dixda's rom kitchen. That one is very handy.

The reason those apps work better if you leave them in system before updating is that if they are in system they will not be updated. Instead android will automatically install the new version into userspace because it is assumed no root, therefore no write access to /system/app, android will then redirect usage of the newer version to /data/app. The result is more than one version installed. It's possible that some apps may want the old version there and use parts of it? Not sure on that one, but I do know that if it's in userspace it will be overwritten on update.

I think if it's in /system and you update it, then you remove it from /system, there may be something that thinks it's still in /system and checking that it's there before redirecting to /data? Maybe try putting it back into /system and use jumobile root uninstall or whatever it's called then reboot. That should remove all the traces, then maybe try to just place it in /data, reboot again, and then see if the update works properly?

Cheers,
-SB
 
stuartdisco said:
Hi, are there some directions on how to upgrade my ZTE Force (FreedomPop)? First time upgrading a phone. I've done it before on other items like a router.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your FreedomPop Force is *probably* pre-rooted. Download the 4.1.2 ZIP, reboot to recovery (power on + volume down), backup your current ROM, clear cache, dalvik, cache, data, then flash the sawbone ZIP.
 
Buzbee said:
I am not using eclipse as I am doing all changes manually to get a better understanding. I am also trying to figure out how Freedompop got the custom layout on the ICS homescreen without using default_workspace.xml in custom-config.
Click to expand...

I would say that probably they have altered the SystemUI.apk or maybe launcher2.apk in some way. You should be able to decompile and read the code fairly easily. You can use the plain sprint version decompiled as a cross-reference.

Google provides a nice decompiler for free on the site where you can get the SDK, or as part of the SDK.

I haven't loaded this on my phone to see what it looks like yet. I do have freedompop, but my account is tied to a galaxy s4. I would have to use the free messaging app instead of the actual messaging app to get it to work. Then it's wifi only.

Cheers,
-SB
 
Sean OGorman said:
Your FreedomPop Force is *probably* pre-rooted. Download the 4.1.2 ZIP, reboot to recovery (power on + volume down), backup your current ROM, clear cache, dalvik, cache, data, then flash the sawbone ZIP.
Click to expand...

You're saying dirty flash to root? That would work, but if it's something that he copied from the freedompop ROM that broke root, dirty flashing might break something in the freedompop. It might not, too, but I think there are some overlapping differences and not just missing apps.

Cheers,
-SB
 
The included overclock module in this ROM does work, well sort of.

insmod /system/lib/modules/zte_krait_oc.ko loads just fine

I opened 3c toolbox and checked, and 1.8ghz is now an option. I tried running Antutu and the speed never went above 1.02ghz. So I took a look at the thermal settings and did some changing and it was no good.

So I shutdown, reloaded the module and tried again. This time I opened the thermal config for the second option in 3c toolbox. I set the trigger temp for the first trigger to 1.8Ghz and made the temp 33C, which is right around idle temp.

The next temp down is at 60C.

This time the phone worked as usual. Meaning that it maxed out at 1.51Ghz despite settings being on 1.8.

Same with the GPU. Was set to max of 400mhz but the actual max achieved was 300mhz.

So it looks as though there is a kernel setting which is preventing the overclock from working properly.

I know some people who have been patching kernel frequency/voltage tables manually without recompiling on another platform. I might ask them about it, but it's a different CPU they are working with and kitkat as well, so they might not be much help.

Still can't hurt to ask for a little help I suppose. Ideally Sprint would release this source code. ZTE will not admit it's existence in the wild and blames Sprint for releasing it.

Why is it that NOBODY wants to comply with GPL or LGPL licensing stipulations!?!
 
Great now I have thermal settings set which were not set before, lol. It seems as though 3c toolbox doesn't necessarily go back to default on restart.

So now some of the settings I changed to 1.8ghz are now 1.51.

Oh well, I can always scrap it and reinstall if something goes crazy. Antutu score is pretty normal for this ROM still. It's certainly not getting hot
 
Where did I say dirty flash? I formatted everything. I might be confused though, I'm the same person who temporarily bricked his Force yesterday because I misspelled "build.prop". That wasn't fun.

EDIT: Oops, I forgot the part where I flashed superuser.zip to the stock FreedomPop ROM before doing anything else.
 
spock1104 said:
I just got the N9810 kernel to compile with the Force defconfig, so we may have our updated kernel source there. I can't confirm if it boots, my PC isn't recognizing the bootloader. Anyone care to try? Here's the boot image:

https://www.mediafire.com/?7d602nv1c4wvcc4

if it does work, join me in the pathfinding thread.
Click to expand...

What would be the major benefit of using this kernel? Are you thinking about a kitkat ROM? BC that'd be awesome. Could you post the defconfig or PM it to me?

Thanks!

spock1104 said:
Hopefully sawbones doesn't mind mirroring... http://www.mediafire.com/?9cw54lb12o9f77n
Click to expand...

Not at all, please be my guest. If you're going to post it on another site, though, please link it back here so that we can all benefit from discussion, fixes, problems, etc.

I'll put up another mirror as well.

Sean OGorman said:
Where did I say dirty flash? I formatted everything. I might be confused though, I'm the same person who temporarily bricked his Force yesterday because I misspelled "build.prop". That wasn't fun.

EDIT: Oops, I forgot the part where I flashed superuser.zip to the stock FreedomPop ROM before doing anything else.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that. It looked like you were telling him to flash his rom. clear all the caches, and then dirty flash this ROM on top. Superuser or SuperSU zip flashed from CWM should work with either ROM. Anyone using either ROM should be able to get root that way.

The pre-root by SuperR is superuser. My own personal preference is chainfire supersu (probably just because I'm so used to using it). Flash your own fave.

Cheers!
-SB
 
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spock1104 said:
I just got the N9810 kernel to compile with the Force defconfig, so we may have our updated kernel source there. I can't confirm if it boots, my PC isn't recognizing the bootloader. Anyone care to try? Here's the boot image:

https://www.mediafire.com/?7d602nv1c4wvcc4

if it does work, join me in the pathfinding thread.
Click to expand...

Which Android version are you wanting us to test this kernel with, the one from the N9810? The one from this ROM?

Also, what version is this kernel and where did the source come from? Is it from JB, KK, lollipop? Did ZTE release sources for this one?

If it's a different build then we probably need to use that system to see if it will boot fully(possibly patched for screen resolution to fit the n9100 since n9810 is 720p).

This is exciting! It could really breathe new life into the Force 4G.

Are there AOSP based builds for n9810? If so, and you have a working kernel config, it shouldn't be too terribly hard to build the rest of the system.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. I'll flash your kernel on this JB build and let you know what happens. If your kernel is expecting KK or something the results might not be that great.

Give me a bit and I'll post back.
Cheers,
-SB
 
Sawbones - many thanks for the JB ROM. Installed perfectly.

I saw above that you have the S4 with FreedomPop. If it's the SPH-L720T triband version, any chance you could post or PM the Device/carrier folder? My L720T won't update PRL or Profile, and I saw on xda that replacing the /carrier folder with a known working copy should fix it.
 
Thank you, Buzbee and SB, installed fine for my FreedomPop ZTE Force. I can't seem to get the FP native dialer to receive or send calls, but the Messaging, works fine. I use Google Hangouts anyways, so calling is not an issue for me right now.
 
speedyi said:
Thank you, Buzbee and SB, installed fine for my FreedomPop ZTE Force. I can't seem to get the FP native dialer to receive or send calls, but the Messaging, works fine. I use Google Hangouts anyways, so calling is not an issue for me right now.
Click to expand...

It works now in the latest version .Try downloading FreedomPop version again. (same link).
 
Thanks Buzbee! The native dialer works in the newer FreedomPop version. The only thing not working is the native messaging app - it won't receive or send text msg. It worked in the previous one though.. It looks like it's trying to send from the (500) number, not my FP number - so when I send txt from it, it txt me back: "you can't send text from this number." Everything else is working great: wifi hotspot, etc.. Thanks again!
 
speedyi said:
Thanks Buzbee! The native dialer works in the newer FreedomPop version. The only thing not working is the native messaging app - it won't receive or send text msg. It worked in the previous one though.. It looks like it's trying to send from the (500) number, not my FP number - so when I send txt from it, it txt me back: "you can't send text from this number." Everything else is working great: wifi hotspot, etc.. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

The native messaging app is not suppose to work with FreedomPop. I added it back only because Google Now uses it by default. (FreedomPop left it in the ICS version but had it disabled so it would not show up in the apps). I don't believe there is away to change the default messaging app in Google Now so I was afraid leaving out could cause problems. You should login to your FreedomPop account and go to usage details on the "HOME" page. If it did work, it probably deducted from your data limit and not from your text allowance.

How did you get the Wi-Fi hotspot to work? The Wi-Fi tether app I included breaks Wi-Fi after 1 use. I have to reboot to get Wi-Fi back. I have been using Netd-ndc (master) with Wi-Fi driver loader (1) settings.
 
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