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How to Unlock (and Root) the Bell Galaxy S2. Step by Step Guide

Blue1k said:
Wait aren't you rooted already? What are you using odin to flash?
Click to expand...

exactly ... I am rooted already ... I'm just trying to flash the rom I showed you but can't seem to go past that "odin mode ... .downloading.... "

not sure if I'm missing a step ...
 
maybe I'm missing a step after rooting the phone ? ... I got the yellow triangle so I know the phone is unlocked and all ... :/:confused:
 
Noooo. :( The rom you mentioned is a zip and is not usuable by odin. You need to flash it in recovery using the guide I added today. Phew. You scared me. Lol
 
Blue1k said:
Noooo. :( The rom you mentioned is a zip and is not usuable by odin. You need to flash it in recovery using the guide I added today. Phew. You scared me. Lol
Click to expand...


haha alright... here's the thing tho, i'm turning off the phone then trying to go to recovery mode (volume down + home + power) ... instead it goes into the Odin Mode ... downloading .... then.... nothing... just get stuck right there (Odin software on PC is not turned on ... )
 
Make sure the phone is not connected to the computer. Does it boot now into recovery? If not restart the phone as normal and download clockwork mod also called download manager. This app allows to boot into recovery.
 
damn, so it worked but now I messed up ... after clicking wipe/ ... I accidentely clicked on reboot ... now I got nothing left on the phone ... jeez man, what a mess lmao ... help ... please ? lol

the whole volume + home + power keeps on bringing me to Odin Mode ... weird (not even connected to pc)
 
aight .. so now that I got the whole thing working and the rom looks alright ... how do I put back the apps (I made a backup with CMW ) can I just click on restore backup ?
 
No, the backup for apps is using titanium backup as per the guide. You'll have to download them again from market. You can also set your account to have google backup your phone and apps. Market will automatically remember any apps you bought
 
I just need to say this ... aside from the missing apps... the phone is so much faster hahaha can't wait to test out the battery life !! man, thanks so much for your help !!!
 
I'd like to hear them too blue1k, haha.

Another quick question - I've been having some problems with GPS (on my old iPhone 4, I was able to lock on to GPS anywhere, any time, without data active, theoretically by triangulating my position by using phone towers), but for some reason it hasn't been working at all on my new SG2...

I did a bit of online reading, and some users said the fix was provided in the KE7 firmware (which I read on one of your other posts, that you're currently running it on your phone).

Do you know how I can go about updating my SG2 to KE7? It currently says its running UGKG2. I purchased the phone in Canada, originally locked to Bell/Virgin. Any tips/advice would be great, thanks so much!


PS. A lot of people said the update was available through Kies but not for me for some reason...
 
dangimoth said:
I'd like to hear them too blue1k, haha.

Another quick question - I've been having some problems with GPS (on my old iPhone 4, I was able to lock on to GPS anywhere, any time, without data active, theoretically by triangulating my position by using phone towers), but for some reason it hasn't been working at all on my new SG2...

I did a bit of online reading, and some users said the fix was provided in the KE7 firmware (which I read on one of your other posts, that you're currently running it on your phone).

Do you know how I can go about updating my SG2 to KE7? It currently says its running UGKG2. I purchased the phone in Canada, originally locked to Bell/Virgin. Any tips/advice would be great, thanks so much!


PS. A lot of people said the update was available through Kies but not for me for some reason...
Click to expand...

KE firmwares are pretty old and had crap battery life. :( Any of the newest firmware have much better modems (XXKK2 is fine). If you want to stay stock you can use odin to flash the latest rom and then you would have to root again with odin (flashing the matching cf-root kernel. If you load a KK2 rom then you would flash KK2 rooted cf kernel to match).

Stock firmwares

OR

You could install a pre-rooted rom (the one tdawwg mentioned is a good rom) using recovery to flash (see my front page for flashing non-odin roms).
 
Hey blue, so the ROM is pretty stable .. really fast and the battery is a bit better than what I had, definitely much improvement on that side.

a few flaws that I have noticed tho is from a notification point of view.. for instance, I have to refresh my GMAIL in order to see that I have received a mail (real annoying specially since I'm relying on that a lot.. )

hum... but here's another question I have for you, when Samsung will be releasing the ICS officially... can I still use Kies and update it right away or do I have to revert back to the stock firmware first .. ?

let me know. thanks man !
 
tdawwg said:
Hey blue, so the ROM is pretty stable .. really fast and the battery is a bit better than what I had, definitely much improvement on that side.

a few flaws that I have noticed tho is from a notification point of view.. for instance, I have to refresh my GMAIL in order to see that I have received a mail (real annoying specially since I'm relying on that a lot.. )

hum... but here's another question I have for you, when Samsung will be releasing the ICS officially... can I still use Kies and update it right away or do I have to revert back to the stock firmware first .. ?

let me know. thanks man !
Click to expand...

To fix the no instant gmail go to accounts and sync>select your gmail account and make sure sync gmail is checked.

I noticed some roms disable this by default.

To get an update with kies would mean you need to run a non rooted rom. Screw that. As as soon as ice cream hits it will be available on xda long before kies canada has it.
 
Just wondering before I give this a whirl, will this fix my GPS woes? Also, since we know ICS will be available for the SG2, does that mean (if I go through putting this pre-rooted rom on my phone) that I'll have to go through the process again to install the new ICS rom? (or am I just confused by all of this)

Also, what exactly is KK2?
 
Yes it will fix your GPS issues. The KG2 rom has problems with GPS reception that the newer firmwares addressed.

ICS won't be available officially till probably March or maybe Feb since it will be themed by Samsung.

It doesn't matter if you running stock or a rooted rom. You will still have to flash ICS either way (either through odin or if a ICS zip.rom is available for recovery). So don't worry about running a rooted rom. :) You don't want to use kies to update. Kies is POS software and updates take FOREVER to be released.

KK2 is the firmware. See the link a few posts up. That link will be the first to have the ICS roms. The firmware series goes:

KG, KH, KI1/2/3/4/8, KJ1/2/3, KK1/2/5 Download (KE versions were the ancient ones)

KK2 is official. Some are test builds from Samsung. You have to look to see if it is official.
 
great instrustions

what is the newest unlock?

i tryed CF-Root-SGS2_XX_OXA_KP2-v5.1-CWM5

but i wasnt able to turn my phone on after

so i tryed CF-Root-SGS2_XW_OXA_KK5-v5.0-CWM5
and it worked great

sorry im new to the galaxy but i love it so far

what are the differences between all the different ones out there

thanks in advance and sorry if these questions have been asked already


what is ice cream
 
The unlock is the app you download from market after you root.

The cf kernel does not unlock your phone it roots it which means you now have write access to system files.

Again, and I stress this highly, do not mix kernels. You should be rooting with the cf-root kernel that currently matches the firmware on your phone.

If you have the kg2 firmware then root with kg2 cf kernel.

That is why there are so many cf kernels listed. You have to select the rooted kernel that matches your current firmware.

Hope this helps :)

Almost forgot, ice cream sandwich is the newest android os which will be android 4. It has a ton of nice new features and is much nicer aesthetically than current android.
 
hey blue1k

just another question - ive had that rooted rom you recommended on for a day (clean and simple kk2), and battery life is not looking so hot compared to the stock rom - im at 50% after only 6h. any tips on how to improve battery life? i thought this rom was supposed to improve it :P

thanks and happy holidays!
 
Two suggestions.

1. Freeze the following processes using titanium pro:
Wifi sharing
Wifi sharing manager
(Not wifi app)
Social hub (2 processes)
Imei tracker

2. In settings> power and savings check power savings. This is much improved in the newer firmwares

Pm me if you need help with titanium freezing.

Merry Christmas!!
 
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