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Root [International Tegra 3] What do I need to know about rooting?

T

TarekElsakka

Well-Known Member
Hello there

I know this may be a stupid or odd question to some of you, but I am brand new to the whole Android scene. I've always been an iPhone user until recently when I started using BlackBerries. Now jumping from iPhones to BB was probably the biggest mistake I have done because BB is utter crap and not worth the money; I don't mind buying the cheapest BB possible and using it for just BBM (since that's the only thing that's good about it anyway). *end of rant*

Anyway.. before you all jump on me for not reading the excellent guide in this section, I DID, and I learned a lot about Androids and rooting. I have recently helped out a friend of mine with his HTC Touch Pro (not sure if that was the model) by installing a new Windows Mobile ROM for him and it was fairly easy once I started reading on how it is done and watching some tutorial videos; am I to assume that rooting the HTC One X in order to be able to install customized ROMs would be a similar process?

I also found in the guide that there are a lot of ROMs to choose from, and some of them end with the words "Jelly Bean", is that like the latest official ROM from Google?

And ugh.. one last thing, where's the best place to get Android applications? Is there a store like the App Store, for instance? Please forgive me if this coming question may be against the rules, you can remove it, but is there anything like Installous, for instance? I didn't like having to dish out a lot of money for basic applications on the App Store, especially Maps ones which cost well over 60 bucks, CRAZY.

I still have the Bold 9900 as of the moment but I am considering buying a HTC One X tonight; I found one used (production date 5 - 2012) for only one month and still has 11 months left in its warranty and is in mint condition and for a very good price, so I think I'll go for that rather than dishing out a lot of money for a brand new one and then losing a heck of a lot of money if I decide to sell it.

Any information, tips, or advice would be very appreciated.

Thank you guys!
 
Welcome to AF TarekElsakka! :)

Anyway.. before you all jump on me for not reading the excellent guide in this section, I DID, and I learned a lot about Androids and rooting. I have recently helped out a friend of mine with his HTC Touch Pro (not sure if that was the model) by installing a new Windows Mobile ROM for him and it was fairly easy once I started reading on how it is done and watching some tutorial videos; am I to assume that rooting the HTC One X in order to be able to install customized ROMs would be a similar process?
Click to expand...

Not sure what the process was for the Touch Pro, so can;t comment on whether or not it's similar, but the whole root to Custom ROM process is very, very easy and can be done in about 20-30 minutes. There are instructions on how to start on htcdev.com and when you choose a ROM, the dev should have instructions on how to install too. We'll always be on hand to answer any questions you may have too. Bear in mind that rooting generally voids your warranty.

I also found in the guide that there are a lot of ROMs to choose from, and some of them end with the words "Jelly Bean", is that like the latest official ROM from Google?
Click to expand...

JellyBean is the latest ROM from Google, but at the moment, it's in no way official for the One X yet. It will also be pure Android (aside from a few tweaks by the ROM dev) and won't have any of HTC's customisations or their Sense UI (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). There are a few ICS ROMs with HTC's custom skin on them too. Once you're rooted though, you can install whatever you want and decide what you prefer.

And ugh.. one last thing, where's the best place to get Android applications? Is there a store like the App Store, for instance? Please forgive me if this coming question may be against the rules, you can remove it, but is there anything like Installous, for instance? I didn't like having to dish out a lot of money for basic applications on the App Store, especially Maps ones which cost well over 60 bucks, CRAZY.
Click to expand...

The absolute best place for you to get apps is via Google Play. There is nothing like Installous for Android (from my limited knowledge of what Installous is) and we're not really allowed to talk about things like that anyway. Android is open source and there are loads of excellent, hard working devs out there struggling to make a living, so we like to ensure they're supported and encouraged to keep doing what they do. There are LOADS of free apps available that should give you all the functionality you need so you might never, ever have to pay for an app anyway. Amazon also has it's own app store which will always have a free app of the day (not sure if it's available in your country though).

Re Maps, your phone will come with a pretty good maps app pre isntalled (IMO) so there would really be no need to look for another one anyway. :)

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.
 
Thank you very much for your informative and helpful reply. I am not sure I want to void my warranty because I have heard that there are actually a lot of issues with the HTC One X, especially screen issues, so I am going to need the warranty for as long as it lasts; I have been researching a little and found that I can just Google any application I want and I may end up finding it available for download for Android devices, so do I just copy the application into the SD card and run it from my phone? Or would I need a rooted device in order to install third party applications that are not from or approved by Google?

Thank you again.
 
I just watched a video of comparison between the Samsung Galaxy SIII and the HTC One X, and the only thing the SIII has over the One X, in my opinion, is the Touch Wiz, which seems much more responsive, quicker, and overall more efficient than the Sense. How's your experience with the Sense? And are there custom ROMs that come without the Sense thing?
 
Yep, I'm running a custom Jelly Bean ROM without Sense at the moment. :)

Compared to Sense, battery life is about 30% worse and the camera isn't as good as the Sense camera, but it's not bad at all.
 
If it decreases battery life (which I hear is pretty horrible to begin with) then why are you running without it? I've been reading up on what HTC Sense is and it seems like it's just sort of like a theme (but with a little more) that would differentiate HTC from any other Android phone? Like native application, 7 home-pages instead of 3, etc.?

If running without Sense would make flipping through pages and scrolling through pages smoother and less "laggy" then I'd definitely like to run without it.
 
Battery life is fine to be honest. It's not the best battery life I've had on a phone, but even with the decrease, I'm can still get more than a day with medium use and using the phone as my MP3 player. I'm running JB at the moment as I prefer the cleaner interface a ROM without Sense brings. To me, the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Even installing an alternative launcher, downloadable from the Play Store would improve the speed of things and you can do that without rooting too.
 
That's great, man, thank you so much for all your help. I suppose when I get the phone I'll try with and without Sense and see which one I lean towards more.

By the way, if you go the "rooting" route, is there a way to revert the process in order to keep the warranty intact?
 
There is kinda, you can go back to the stock software, but it's pretty easy for HTC to tell you've been rooted unfortunately. Not sure how close we are to having an undetectable root method yet.

Because part of the process is done via htc themselves, they know. :(
 
I took the plunge and bought the One X this morning. :D

I am really happy with it so far. The screen quality and touch responsiveness are amazing. Typing on it is pretty difficult for me since I have been using BlackBerry devices for a long time now but I am sure I'll get used to it just like I did when I first got the iPhone.

The device came with 4.1 Jelly Bean and the guy told me that he rooted it before but then decided to unroot it after playing with custom ROMs a little bit. I might attempt to do that but later. I am about to install Juice Defender since I've heard it really improves battery life, and I have the "Battery Saving Mode" switched to ON and brightness to automatic but will probably manually adjust it to the lowest at night.

The camera is excellent, at least compared to my previous BlackBerry. The "continuous capturing", or w.e it is called, feature is probably one of the best things I've seen in a while; I know it may be old and has already been there on older devices but this is the first time I actually see and try it so it's pretty cool.

I am still downloading some applications, playing the settings, etc. and tweaking the phone the way I want it to be.

There are some tricky things about it, I can definitely say Android is not as easy as iOS is (but then again iOS is very limited and Apple just ties you, unless you JB it) but that's not a bad thing, I love it!

All in all I am very happy with my decision and I do not regret it one bit, at least not yet. :D Hopefully I won't, though. When I get into the whole rooting and custom ROMs world I am sure I'll like it even more.

Thanks a lot for all your help, guys!

By the way, HTC Sync is the default managing and syncing application I should be using between the HTC and my computer right?
 
Something is really frustrating me - HTC Sync isn't able to detect my device. I played in the Settings and I cannot find how to change USB connectivity mode; isn't it supposed to show a pop up where I am supposed to choose between "Charge only, media sync" or something like that? I cannot for the life of me find it. I also tried dragging down the drawer thing and it says USB Connectivity but when I click it it's just all about hotspot and tethering. Any ideas?
 
I have decided that I would install this custom ROM:

[ROM] 21-10-2012 | IceColdJelly - 3.1 - AOKP build5+ unofficial - JellyBean 4.1.2_r1

In the instructions, it says:

"flash these gapps (Google applications - 20121011) -they NEED to be flashed after every ROM flash"

I downloaded those "gapps" but how do I flash them? They are a bunch of folders inside a .rar file.

And um.. what's the easiest way to wipe the device?

Thank you!
 
I am unsure what a recovery is, sorry.

EDIT: I just backed my data up using ClockworkMod Recovery v5.8.4.0

I guess I am in the right direction.
 
Ok, it was a relatively long night, I've started typing up instructions, but I need to go to bed, sorry! I'll grab a couple of hours then finish the write up and post for you. I've been meaning to do it for a while anyway so it should be pretty comprehensive.

BTW, have you needed to use fastboot for anything yet? If that sounds totally alien to you, that's fine, that just means no. I can sort you out with the needed files an instructions on how to install.

Have a look through here: http://androidforums.com/faqs/443072-adb-guide-updated-12-05-2011-a.html

You can download the full SDK, but the Mini one is all you'll need for now.
 
I believe you summed it up perfectly when you said that the Sense camera is special; I truly dislike the current camera I have and I may end up going back to a sense-based ROM.

The things I like about this senseless ROM is that it is snappy and fast.. I mean it is really quick and doesn't lag. You can see it when you swipe pages, it's just really fast compared to Sense - sort of like the Galaxy S3 that I saw in the comparison video. As you said, though, the battery life is quite bad compared to a sense-based ROM, and I still do not understand why to be honest.

Customizing this ROM is much easier than the sense-based JB ROM (non-custom, stock) I had on the device.

I might just go for a custom ROM that is sense-based in order to get back the less-than-impressive battery life and amazing camera features back.

Thank you for all your help, I truly appreciate it.

In order to avoid any complications, I'll use TWP or w.e it is called to backup and perform the steps you mentioned above. Hopefully it'll go smoothly. Any custom ROM that is sense-based which you'd recommend in terms of speed? I'd love me a snappy ROM.
 
If you're looking for a Sense based ROM, look no further than Venom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1745176

Whilst it is Sense, you have the option to remove parts of Sense during the install, meaning you get the camera, plus the Sense Launcher is removed, along with some Sense Apps. During Install, an app runs in recovery called Aroma, this allows you to choose an alternative launcher and remove apps you think you won't need. It will still have certain system files, so the Sense camera will still work.

If you like the look of AOKP, you can also flash this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1733025

That will replace some apps and add theme the entire ROM so it looks like CyanogenMod/AOKP. You'd install the ROM, boot it once, then let it download the update to bring you to 2.7.1, then flash the zip file in recovery.

The ROM itself also has something called Venom Hub which allows you to change the icons in the status bar and various other parts of the ROM.

If you're looking at TWRP (it's what I use), head here: TeamWin Projects - TWRP 2.3 | TeamWin

Download the file "openrecovery-twrp-2.3.1.0-endeavoru.img". Once downloaded, rename it to recovery.img.

Place the img file in your fastboot folder. Reboot your phone into the bootloader by turning it off completely and turning back on whilst holding power and volume down. You'll be taken to a white screen with 3 skateboarding Androids at the bottom. Use the volume & power keys to select fastboot. Connect your phone to your PC and you should see Fastboot USB about a third of the way down the screen. Open a command prompt on your PC, navigate to the Fastboot folder and type the command:

Code: 
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
.

Once done, you can reboot, or head back in to hboot and select recovery to have a look at TWRP.

BTW, if you're going to look at installing ROMs on a regular basis, I recommend Titanium Backup which will backup your apps and data between ROM flashes. There's a short tutorial on Titanium and how to use it here: http://androidforums.com/faqs/607141-guide-titaniumbackup-tutorial.html
 
Thank you so much for all your help. I appreciate it.

Before you posted this, though, I had already set my eye on a certain ROM which is basically stock but faster and with a few additions:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1562603

If I had known about Venom beforehand I would have downloaded it but then again I am about 80% in the download (500+MB file) and my internet connection is pretty slow (120kbp/s transfer rate) so it would not be so smart to cancel it, perhaps I can download Venom later if I don't like Android Revolution.

I guess I could save myself the hassle and stick to Clockworld recovery. I've already done a Nandroid Backup using "Online Nandroid Backup" from the Play store and when I mounted the USB storage of my device on my computer I found that backup inside the Clockworld Recovery folder, 700+MB. I also backed up applications using "App Backup & Restore" or something like that, which worked fine last time.

The steps are fairly easy, except for one which is confusing me:

|Flash boot.img from the downloads section|

And this is what the download section has:

screenhunter02oct301626.jpg


Which one am I supposed to flash?
 
Oh wow how stupid am I? Don't the 12.x, 11.x, 9.7.x boot images refer to the actual ROMs, as in Android Revolution HD 9.7.2 Ice Cream Sandwich, Android Revolution HD 11.1 Jelly Bean (IRC), and Android Revolution HD 12.0 Jelly Bean? If that's the case then I am sure I'll need the boot.img for 12.x (v.0.1).
 
No worries!

Which version of ARHD are you downloading, it should tell you in the file name. You'll probably have to flash the ICS version which will be Android Revolution HD 9.7.2 so you'll need the 9.7.2 boot.img file.

Because of the way HTC have done things for their version of JellyBean, For the ARHD (or other JellyBean) Sense JellyBean ROMs to work you'll need to update hboot (something I've not done myself and am unsure of the process). However, if you do that, you'll be stuck on Sense Based JB ROMs until there's a way to make other ROMs work with the new hboot. I'd hold off with that if I were you, just go for version 9.7.2 for now. Anything else limits your options in the short term future

Edit - Just saw your 2nd post, there's a lot there and you're not used to doing this, it is confusing!
 
So basically if I download the Android Revolution HD 12 version, I'll have to update the Hboot? That sucks. I guess I should cancel the download and go for Venom.
 
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