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How to Unlock (and Root) the Bell Galaxy S2. Step by Step Guide
- Thread starter Blue1k
- Start date
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- samsung galaxy s2
FYI....
Just flashed the new ICS (with full wipe). I ran into issues with being unable to activiate a wifi connection. Moreover it seemed that Titanium Backup was freezing when trying to restore my apps. I am not sure if this is because I messed something up during the flash, or if there are bugs with this ROM. I flashed back to what I was running previous with no issues. Anyone else with the same issue?
Just flashed the new ICS (with full wipe). I ran into issues with being unable to activiate a wifi connection. Moreover it seemed that Titanium Backup was freezing when trying to restore my apps. I am not sure if this is because I messed something up during the flash, or if there are bugs with this ROM. I flashed back to what I was running previous with no issues. Anyone else with the same issue?
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
You can't use Titanium backup to restore after going to ICS. That is why I said wipe. You need to start with a fresh install and install your apps again either from market or wherever you get them.
There are too many differences between the Gingerbread and ICS build. This is a huge upgrade!
Not sure about your wifi issues. Haven't seen anyone else have this issue after upgrading. Did you try to use titanium to restore your access points?
Your second option is to use Odin to flash but you will lose root. I haven't had a chance to look into rooting after ICS upgrade. Will look into it.
Hope this helps
EDIT.....
I just checked the thread for the rom. It is stock but the guy who created this rooted rom has noticed there are issues when he deodexed the apps for a rooted rom.
MY ADVICE IS TO USE ODIN AND THE STOCK ICS ROM UNTIL A BETTER ROOTED STOCK ROM IS RELEASED.
So sorry about this guys. Guys roms were solid in the past and I assumed he new what he was doing. I guess there are some fine tuning needed for creating a rooted ics rom that he was not aware of.
I won't post another ics rooted rom until I am sure it is gold.
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
For now only use the stock unrooted rom with Odin.
Recommendation is to do a full wipe in recovery before and after flashing the rom.
DO NOT USE TITANIUM TO RESTORE APPS. Do it the good old fashioned way.
You can get it here: (scroll down to get XXLPQ)
XXLPQ for Odin
Recommendation is to do a full wipe in recovery before and after flashing the rom.
DO NOT USE TITANIUM TO RESTORE APPS. Do it the good old fashioned way.
You can get it here: (scroll down to get XXLPQ)
XXLPQ for Odin
I flashed the official rom using Odin. Everything went fine even though I did not wipe the phone (too much time to install Apps manually, put back music, photos etc, iPhone was much easier in this).
I did not root it because I was rooting to have the unlock and since it remained unlocked, I did not need the root (any other good reasons to root??).
The only issue that I had was non responsive wifi (few time did not want to turn on). Everything else was fine.
However, I did not see the great features of ICS that everyone is talking about.
Can anybody summarize them??
Kind regards
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
I'll write up a full change log soon. By the way, wiping does not remove any data on your phone or SD card storage, such as photos and music. It only formats system files to ensure a clean upgrade. ITunes does the same for you when you upgrade and then resyncs your apps. If you notice any other issues I would wipe and reflash with Odin.
Also, remember we are using Odin, a testers tool, to manually upgrade to avoid waiting till Kies shows an update.
Also, remember we are using Odin, a testers tool, to manually upgrade to avoid waiting till Kies shows an update.
Thanks!
What is the proper way to do the wipe then? Is it the factory reset under privacy? (sorry if the question is so stupid!)
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
No that is a valid question!
Best way is to go into recovery (power off then press power+volume up+home till it enters recovery).
Wipe by selecting factory reset/wipe then select wipe cache.
I wouldn't wipe unless you really notice major issues. You might be fine. Give it a couple days.
Best way is to go into recovery (power off then press power+volume up+home till it enters recovery).
Wipe by selecting factory reset/wipe then select wipe cache.
I wouldn't wipe unless you really notice major issues. You might be fine. Give it a couple days.
No that is a valid question!
Best way is to go into recovery (power off then press power+volume up+home till it enters recovery).
Wipe by selecting factory reset/wipe then select wipe cache.
I wouldn't wipe unless you really notice major issues. You might be fine. Give it a couple days.
Thanks I will do that!
You can't use Titanium backup to restore after going to ICS. That is why I said wipe. You need to start with a fresh install and install your apps again either from market or wherever you get them.
There are too many differences between the Gingerbread and ICS build. This is a huge upgrade!
Not sure about your wifi issues. Haven't seen anyone else have this issue after upgrading. Did you try to use titanium to restore your access points?
Your second option is to use Odin to flash but you will lose root. I haven't had a chance to look into rooting after ICS upgrade. Will look into it.
Hope this helps
EDIT.....
I just checked the thread for the rom. It is stock but the guy who created this rooted rom has noticed there are issues when he deodexed the apps for a rooted rom.
MY ADVICE IS TO USE ODIN AND THE STOCK ICS ROM UNTIL A BETTER ROOTED STOCK ROM IS RELEASED.
So sorry about this guys. Guys roms were solid in the past and I assumed he new what he was doing. I guess there are some fine tuning needed for creating a rooted ics rom that he was not aware of.
I won't post another ics rooted rom until I am sure it is gold.
Hey Blue,
All seems to be running smoothly. I have used Odin to upgrade to ICS and it seems to be working. As for my wifi issues... I was using the wrong password but it did not alert me to the fact I had punched it in wrong (I know, I'm an idiot lol). So far it seems to be working well and it is nice to start fresh with that wipe. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, I have lost root access, but will wait until something more stable comes out. Thanks for all the info!!
Ok, so I think I figured this out, but I want to make sure before I upgrade to ics. So I followed your directions on the first page of this post to root my phone. I think its running KG2. I'm not to familiar with all these terms yet.
Now I downloaded the two links from the XXLPQ link you posted.
So do I add the first file in Odin in the pda spot or the kernal file or do I use both somehow?
Thanks in advance.
Now I downloaded the two links from the XXLPQ link you posted.
So do I add the first file in Odin in the pda spot or the kernal file or do I use both somehow?
Thanks in advance.
Attachments
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
You don't need the kernel. It is included in the rom. The link is there because some people flash back the kernel after rooting.
To flash the rom please follow the method shown on my front page.
You will need to unrar the file which should leave you with a tar file in the folder. Use PDA to flash this. Be careful to only check what is show on my guide images.
This is a rooted rom just come out today...still have some minor bugs. You can check it out
CriskeloServanTeam V05◥███◣-ICS 4.0.3 (Firm Oficial XXLPQ)
CriskeloServanTeam V05◥███◣-ICS 4.0.3 (Firm Oficial XXLPQ)
Hey All. Here's what I did; I installed the ICS stock ROM listed here SiyahKernel for SGS2 | "One kernel to rule them all" (from March 13th). I didn't wipe or anything (forgot to actually). I flashed the ROM using ODIN. It installed fine. That left me un-rooted. I then installed the rooted kernel on that same page (with ODIN again). Bingo! Rooted! Almost everything was still intact. I had to re-download 3-4 apps. I also had to restore all my home screens which I had backed up (with my backup pro) so that was easy.
I've been playing around with it for over an hour and everything seems to be working ok. Btw, Thought that face unlock would be cool, but it's not (lol). Anyway, I'll keep it on there for now as it seems to be ok.
**UPDATE: Well, things seemed to work ok. However, I had 1 problem. Battery drained pretty fast. When I looked at my battery use, phone was always "awake". Checked out betterbatterystats wakelogs and didn't really find anything out of place (that I could tell). Going back to 2.3.6 and I'll give it a few days I think.**
**UPDATE #2: Did I full system wipe and kept the same ICS ROM I listed. Battery seems much better. It's not always "awake". Stay tuned...
I've been playing around with it for over an hour and everything seems to be working ok. Btw, Thought that face unlock would be cool, but it's not (lol). Anyway, I'll keep it on there for now as it seems to be ok.
**UPDATE: Well, things seemed to work ok. However, I had 1 problem. Battery drained pretty fast. When I looked at my battery use, phone was always "awake". Checked out betterbatterystats wakelogs and didn't really find anything out of place (that I could tell). Going back to 2.3.6 and I'll give it a few days I think.**
**UPDATE #2: Did I full system wipe and kept the same ICS ROM I listed. Battery seems much better. It's not always "awake". Stay tuned...
elishnevsky
Lurker
Hi all! First of all I want to apologize in advance for being a noob There's so much information both here and on XDA that I'm completely lost. So I decided I'll just post my questions here.
@Blue1k, thank you for the great tutorial. I followed it step by step, flashed a new kernel and my SGS2 was rooted. I then flashed it with VillainROM 3.0, but it looks like my rooted kernel was gone. The CWR and Superuser apps were not there anymore. I then flashed stock everything back and rooted it again. I wasn't too happy with Villain anyways.
So here's what I still don't understand. These are probably basic questions for many, by anyways:
1. To root my SGS2 the kernel had to be KG2. Does it only matter the first time, or does it mean that everything (kernels, ROMs) always have to match this? If I want to flash a custom ROM now when my phone is rooted, do I have to pay attention to this as well?
2. Do custom ROMs include rooted kernels that overwrite the one you have?
3. Can I theoretically flash my Bell SGS2 with official ICS that is currently rolling out in Europe, even if it doesn't match KG2? Will it be rooted or will I have to flash it with rooted kernel? Will the kernel have to be KG2 or will it need to match whatever kernel ICS comes with?
4. What is the difference between Odin and non-Odin ROMs? In most tutorials that I read about flashing custom non-official ROMS people use Odin. Or am I missing something?
Appreciate your help.
There's so much information both here and on XDA that I'm completely lost. So I decided I'll just post my questions here.@Blue1k, thank you for the great tutorial. I followed it step by step, flashed a new kernel and my SGS2 was rooted. I then flashed it with VillainROM 3.0, but it looks like my rooted kernel was gone. The CWR and Superuser apps were not there anymore. I then flashed stock everything back and rooted it again. I wasn't too happy with Villain anyways.
So here's what I still don't understand. These are probably basic questions for many, by anyways:
1. To root my SGS2 the kernel had to be KG2. Does it only matter the first time, or does it mean that everything (kernels, ROMs) always have to match this? If I want to flash a custom ROM now when my phone is rooted, do I have to pay attention to this as well?
2. Do custom ROMs include rooted kernels that overwrite the one you have?
3. Can I theoretically flash my Bell SGS2 with official ICS that is currently rolling out in Europe, even if it doesn't match KG2? Will it be rooted or will I have to flash it with rooted kernel? Will the kernel have to be KG2 or will it need to match whatever kernel ICS comes with?
4. What is the difference between Odin and non-Odin ROMs? In most tutorials that I read about flashing custom non-official ROMS people use Odin. Or am I missing something?
Appreciate your help.
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
You must be careful to only install kernels made for ice cream sandwich. You can't mix a gb kernel with ics
Blue1k
Android Enthusiast
Hi all! First of all I want to apologize in advance for being a noob
@Blue1k, thank you for the great tutorial. I followed it step by step, flashed a new kernel and my SGS2 was rooted. I then flashed it with VillainROM 3.0, but it looks like my rooted kernel was gone. The CWR and Superuser apps were not there anymore. I then flashed stock everything back and rooted it again. I wasn't too happy with Villain anyways.
So here's what I still don't understand. These are probably basic questions for many, by anyways:
1. To root my SGS2 the kernel had to be KG2. Does it only matter the first time, or does it mean that everything (kernels, ROMs) always have to match this? If I want to flash a custom ROM now when my phone is rooted, do I have to pay attention to this as well?
2. Do custom ROMs include rooted kernels that overwrite the one you have?
3. Can I theoretically flash my Bell SGS2 with official ICS that is currently rolling out in Europe, even if it doesn't match KG2? Will it be rooted or will I have to flash it with rooted kernel? Will the kernel have to be KG2 or will it need to match whatever kernel ICS comes with?
4. What is the difference between Odin and non-Odin ROMs? In most tutorials that I read about flashing custom non-official ROMS people use Odin. Or am I missing something?
Appreciate your help.
1. No, the reason is because you should match kernels with your existing rom.
2. Custom roms are pre rooted
3.Yes of course. The only matching you should worry about is current rom with a matching cf-rooted kernels.
4.Odin roms are stock roms in a tar or tar.md5 format. Non-odin roms and custom kernels are in zip format and are installed with cwm.
elishnevsky
Lurker
Thank you, buddy! I appreciate it.
Hi everyone, I was browsing XDA and found a thread with all stock ICS firmware as well as root instructions. I believe Blue posted a link to the XXLPQ firmware... if you head to the link scroll down a bit and you will find the CF root file, associated with XXLPQ, to flash with Odin. Instructions are included in the thread but, when in doubt, follow Blue's walk through. If this has already been posted I apologize. Link is here.
I am not sure how stable everything is as I have not yet flashed it myself... do so at your own risk!
I am not sure how stable everything is as I have not yet flashed it myself... do so at your own risk!
Blue1k, When going from 2.3 to 4.0 I know you have to wipe data, then flash new ROM. I forgot to wipe data before flashing to 4.0. I therefore upgraded to 4.0 and THEN performed the data wipe.
1) My question is that does it matter whether you wipe before or after going to 4.0. Or it doesn't matter, as long as you just do it at some point.
2) Also, do you have to WIPE DALVIK CACHE after you restore a CWM backup image?
Thanks.
1) My question is that does it matter whether you wipe before or after going to 4.0. Or it doesn't matter, as long as you just do it at some point.
2) Also, do you have to WIPE DALVIK CACHE after you restore a CWM backup image?
Thanks.
I just registered to this forum to talk about my exprience with ICS rom.
I have installed XXLPQ that is linked and it has been a little over a day.
Everything is quite stable. Here are some good and bad things about the rom.
The good
1. The battery life is enourmousely improved. The battry graph actually looks quite flat. I used to get to 30% after 10 hours without charging with wifi on but not connected in the stock rom, which means I could not get by a day without charging it during the day at one point. Now I have wifi left turned on and after 10 hours, I have 70% of juice still left to go.
2. The rom is really stable, and I call it a production level quality. I have used million other custom roms with different android phones but they all have glitches all the time, big or small. At one point, I was so sick of wiping and installing new patched roms in couple days so I just get SGS2 to forget all the custom rom business.
3. Faster. It is simply faster than 2.3.3 Bell rom. I can't say anything about other 2.3 roms that did not come with bell craps tho.
The bad
1. There are slight lags on touch at times. It is not really noticible nor happening all the time. I guess the rom is not optimized to the best possible ways but is good enough for the public release.
2. Screenshot feature is gone, or at least it cannot be activated the same way it used to be.
The weird
The only weird thing I found is that the data connection is keep bumping in and out between HSDPA(H+) and UMTS(3G) where in the stock rom, it was either H+ or no data at all. There is not noticible issue regarding this. My guess is that Bell had removed 3G icon all together to give us a false idea that we are in 4G all the time.
I have installed XXLPQ that is linked and it has been a little over a day.
Everything is quite stable. Here are some good and bad things about the rom.
The good
1. The battery life is enourmousely improved. The battry graph actually looks quite flat. I used to get to 30% after 10 hours without charging with wifi on but not connected in the stock rom, which means I could not get by a day without charging it during the day at one point. Now I have wifi left turned on and after 10 hours, I have 70% of juice still left to go.
2. The rom is really stable, and I call it a production level quality. I have used million other custom roms with different android phones but they all have glitches all the time, big or small. At one point, I was so sick of wiping and installing new patched roms in couple days so I just get SGS2 to forget all the custom rom business.
3. Faster. It is simply faster than 2.3.3 Bell rom. I can't say anything about other 2.3 roms that did not come with bell craps tho.
The bad
1. There are slight lags on touch at times. It is not really noticible nor happening all the time. I guess the rom is not optimized to the best possible ways but is good enough for the public release.
2. Screenshot feature is gone, or at least it cannot be activated the same way it used to be.
The weird
The only weird thing I found is that the data connection is keep bumping in and out between HSDPA(H+) and UMTS(3G) where in the stock rom, it was either H+ or no data at all. There is not noticible issue regarding this. My guess is that Bell had removed 3G icon all together to give us a false idea that we are in 4G all the time.