"Hey Smart Guy" Launched
Smart Guy Computing launched its new "Hey Smart Guy" web how-to series yesterday on its Sarasotasmart YouTube channel. The How To's will be only a few minutes long (each) and will be designed to solve problems one at a time so the viewer won't have to watch a 30 minute tutorial video to find out how to do simple tasks.
To start viewing the How To's, visit Smart Guy Computing's YouTube Cannel here [go now].
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Adventures in G2 Rooting
Recently I decided to root my T-Mobile G2. I knew from past rooting experiences with other android devices that this would be a real picnic (sense the sarcasm). So I took a deep breath, backed up my data, muttered a solemn prayer and set out on my latest adventure.
The very first thing that I had to consider was what I expected to achieve by rooting my G2. For starters I knew that if I rooted my phone I could overclock my processor from 800Mhz to 1.42Ghz which sounded like an awesome idea.
I could use certain network sniffers that require a rooted device to function properly and additionally I could upgrade my android version from 2.2 (Froyo) to 2.3 (gingerbread) using custom ROMs such as the kind you can find on the famous XDA Developers site (www.xda-developers.com).
I found many methods for rooting my G2 available, but after thoroughly testing each I quickly discovered that not every method to perm root my device worked well for me. Sometimes after completion of the steps, I would reboot and find that the perm root didn't stay permanent. The method that ended up working well for me was the method posted on SimplyAndroid.com (it worked great actually).
I am posting the following information as a heads up to let you know what you will need to successfully root your device per SimplyAndroid. These tools are listed on SimplyAndroid.com and I STRONGLY suggest that you follow their instructions precisely to avoid bricking your G2.
- Visionary must be disabled at boot or uninstalled completely
- Android Terminal Emulator app (found on the Android Market)
- ADB (install the Android SDK)
- vision-combined-root.zip
- G2TempRoot.zip
- vision-perm-root.zip
Now that I was rooted (after following the instructions), it was time to apply a custom ROM to my G2. I decided to download and test several ROMs from XDA-Developers.com to see which one I liked best. I cannot testify that everything went smoothly. Some ROMs did not work well for me. The best suggestion I can give you is to test and see which ROM you prefer. I ended up using the Virtuous G-Lite v1.0.1 Gingerbread ROM from XDA Developers and it worked flawlessly. I also tested the Virtuous Fusion v1.0.0 Gingerbread ROM with Sense 3.0 and as much as I loved this ROM and truly wanted it to work perfectly on the first try, it sent my G2 into a boot-loop and I had to remove it. Finally I decided to give the leaked flashable Gingerbread ROM from T-Mobile a shot (link is below). As expected, this was the only ROM that worked totally flawless for me on every level. The performance was great and I was totally pleased with the end result. On the downside, it did remove root access from my G2 (and my ability to overclock as well), and my Netflix app went belly up. I now get audio sans video for streaming Netflix movies. I can only expect that an official update from Netflix will happen when the ROM is ‘Officially’ released by the T-Mobile posse.
So what are the lessons learned? If you’re an experienced phone modder, have at it. You will definitely find some cool ROMs out there. Be sure to follow rooting and ROM instructions to the letter (and I say this again underscored: TO THE LETTER) or you may brick your phone. If you prefer to play it safe and still get the latest Android OS on your G2 quickly, copy the leaked flashable Gingerbread ROM (get it here) to the root of your SD card, hold the volume down button while powering on your phone and run the update. You won't be disappointed.
Useful tools & necessary links
