Dumb question, is a rooted/2.1 better than the official 2.1?

[revlis240]

Hey guys,
On the blackberry side, we always had modders releasing hybrid images that were somehow slightly better than the official releases. So assuming i dont care about the warranty (since you can restore to stock anyway?) would it be better to root the Hero and put a leaked 2.1 on it or just wait for the official release?

I dont mind waiting for 2.1 (so long as it is reasonable) so thats not an issue. But if there are benefits to me rooting and going with the leaked 2.1 then ill just go that route. One benefit I can think of right now is to get rid of all the sprint crap, such as nascar and espn etc...

Thanks
Abe

 

[xbrokdikdogx]

If you want to get rid of the sprint crap and want to get 2.1 now then rooting is the only way to go. Having the official release 2.1 will still mean having all that bloatware sitting on your phone.

There are also some other nice additions having rooted the phone now. Apps2sd is available in the ROMs currently released. If you want the live wallpapers the official 2.1 will not come with them, but the custom ROMs have them. If you prefer the vanilla android to Sense, the ROMs have vanilla and the nexus android look and seems to be faster than sense. In all honesty, I would say root and go for it now instead of waiting for the official release. Of course don't blame me if you don't know what you are doing and brick your phone. just had to add the disclaimer.

 

[dizzy]

Since the "official 2.1" isn't out, can anyone really answer your question? I'd expect that all those who've rooted their phones will say the UN-official 2.1 is better.

Frankly, I'm mad that the only way we can get rid of all the worhtless crap that Sprint and HTC loaded onto our phones is to root them! None of those apps is essential to the proper operation of the phone ... they are not necessary and thru the Marketplace we've got access to tons of similar items!

I was really hoping that Google would provide better user control over the OS in v2!

 

[revlis240]

what is the "sense ui" exactly? I like having animations and bouncing menus if thats what it is. Will that work on a leaked 2.1?

Im VERY good with computers and tech, is bricking the phone something out of my control or if i follow the directions, should it be a simple thing?

 

[JasonK75]

Since the "official 2.1" isn't out, can anyone really answer your question? I'd expect that all those who've rooted their phones will say the UN-official 2.1 is better.

Frankly, I'm mad that the only way we can get rid of all the worhtless crap that Sprint and HTC loaded onto our phones is to root them! None of those apps is essential to the proper operation of the phone ... they are not necessary and thru the Marketplace we've got access to tons of similar items!

I was really hoping that Google would provide better user control over the OS in v2!

Agreed 100%. I happen to like my rooted phone with Fresh 2.0d on it; since the official version of 2.1 is not out, I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[Kelmar]

what is the "sense ui" exactly? I like having animations and bouncing menus if thats what it is. Will that work on a leaked 2.1?

It's the User Interface. A combination of "customizations" such as the bottom bar. I've heard that it is on the leaked 2.1.

Im VERY good with computers and tech, is bricking the phone something out of my control or if i follow the directions, should it be a simple thing?

Read everything and you should be fine, the chances of bricking your phone are slim and pretty much limited to putting GSM roms onto your CDMA Hero. When in doubt, ask. Make sure you always have a back-up saved to your PC.

See above in bold.

 

[BEARitone]

Hey guys,
On the blackberry side, we always had modders releasing hybrid images that were somehow slightly better than the official releases. So assuming i dont care about the warranty (since you can restore to stock anyway?) would it be better to root the Hero and put a leaked 2.1 on it or just wait for the official release?

I dont mind waiting for 2.1 (so long as it is reasonable) so thats not an issue. But if there are benefits to me rooting and going with the leaked 2.1 then ill just go that route. One benefit I can think of right now is to get rid of all the sprint crap, such as nascar and espn etc...

Thanks
Abe

Even when the official 2.1 is released the root community will probably add improvements. Custom roms just give you so much more flexibility. Hell its worth the trouble to root just to get rid of the sprint apps taking up space.

I was one of the folks who was going to wait, but honestly after having my phone for only 2 weeks I found it to be mediocre, slow, and boring so I decided to root for the fun of it and it has improved the phone by so much. If only for getting rid of sprint apps, having a cleaner sense UI bottom bar, and having the android standard unlock screen it was well worth it, but there is much more. Chances are if you don't like something, someone has found a way to change it. Official updates just don't offer that kind of flexibility.

For people who are unsure whether you can do it... It really is very easy, just directions and cutting/pasting. There is also a easy rooter.


In short:
No way to tell until it is out but even then I would guess XDA Devs will add quite a bit to the custom roms, so I would say rooted for sure.

 

[revlis240]

thats the answer i was looking for. When you root/upgrade, i know it wipes your device. is there any way to save the call logs and sms messages? the emails will come back from the server, but it sucks to lose history of all the other stuff too.

which 2.1 rom did you get?

 

[NYCHitman1]

thats the answer i was looking for. When you root/upgrade, i know it wipes your device. is there any way to save the call logs and sms messages? the emails will come back from the server, but it sucks to lose history of all the other stuff too.

which 2.1 rom did you get?

You can backup your contacts to Google. I always just delete the call logs and txt msgs b/c I'll remember the conversation I've had w/ someone.

I'm using Fresh 2.0d at the moment. Another popular 2.1 ROM is DamageControl 2.07.2

 

[330D]

You can backup your contacts to Google. I always just delete the call logs and txt msgs b/c I'll remember the conversation I've had w/ someone.

I'm using Fresh 2.0d at the moment. Another popular 2.1 ROM is DamageControl 2.07.2

+1 For Fresh, most say damage is optimized, fresh is more complete....

 

[tailsthecat]

Even when the official 2.1 is released the root community will probably add improvements. Custom roms just give you so much more flexibility. Hell its worth the trouble to root just to get rid of the sprint apps taking up space.

I was one of the folks who was going to wait, but honestly after having my phone for only 2 weeks I found it to be mediocre, slow, and boring so I decided to root for the fun of it and it has improved the phone by so much. If only for getting rid of sprint apps, having a cleaner sense UI bottom bar, and having the android standard unlock screen it was well worth it, but there is much more. Chances are if you don't like something, someone has found a way to change it. Official updates just don't offer that kind of flexibility.

For people who are unsure whether you can do it... It really is very easy, just directions and cutting/pasting. There is also a easy rooter.


In short:
No way to tell until it is out but even then I would guess XDA Devs will add quite a bit to the custom roms, so I would say rooted for sure.

Ive been thinking of rooting, only to remove the useless sprint apps. Did you notice your device running faster after deleting the apps-before flashing to a custom rom? I may wait for the official 2.1 then root and delete the apps. Thanks.

 

[ep8703]

which ROM don't have the sprint crap on it. i rooted with 2.1 RUU. but since that's on i cant seen to get any other on there. are there any better. or should i just wait till the official release.

 

[Squiggy]

+1 For Fresh, most say damage is optimized, fresh is more complete....

+1 for Damage, since 2.08 came out last night. I've tried Fresh 2.0d, but prefer Damage.

 

[ep8703]

when i boot into the mode to install the i always get this screen a pic of the phone w a trianlge and a ! in side how do you get in there to install a rom how long do hold dw the home key and the power key.

 

[Squiggy]

when i boot into the mode to install the i always get this screen a pic of the phone w a trianlge and a ! in side how do you get in there to install a rom how long do hold dw the home key and the power key.

Unmount the phone/sd card from your computer.

 

[BEARitone]

Ive been thinking of rooting, only to remove the useless sprint apps. Did you notice your device running faster after deleting the apps-before flashing to a custom rom? I may wait for the official 2.1 then root and delete the apps. Thanks.

Well I rooted and went straight to the Fresh 2.0d custom rom. I did not play with the phone at all after I rooted it, sorry

For what it's worth you can always root, use the custom rom, then go back to stock to upgrade to the official 2.1. But obviously that is a bit of extra work, haha. The custom rom seems very solid in my experience so far, it is worth trying if you have the time.


to ep8703: I know Fresh 2.0d took them out for sure, I have no experience with other roms. Although, they usually have a list of everything they did to the ROM when you go to download it. I would guess that most others feel the same way about the sprint apps, so I would think many would have them removed or the ability to remove them.

 

[ep8703]

i get this now. E: failed to open /sdcard/update. zip (no such file or directory)
E: signature verification failed

 

[jgert2005]

Will be interesting to see if the official 2.1 will attempt to close root access. If it does I doubt it will be for long. These ROM developers are super sharp folks. If you root be sure to support them for all the work they put in to give us the best ROMs available.

 

[Squiggy]

I am going to keep my current 2.1 ROM and wait and see what happens once the official 2.1 comes out. I just think there will be a lot more flexibility with the developer ROMs than we'll get with the official release.

 

[330D]

I am going to keep my current 2.1 ROM and wait and see what happens once the official 2.1 comes out. I just think there will be a lot more flexibility with the developer ROMs than we'll get with the official release.

And who wants all the Bloat? I'm sure the devs will dump the useless sprint crap that has most likely delayed the release to begin with!

 

[tailsthecat]

And who wants all the Bloat? I'm sure the devs will dump the useless sprint crap that has most likely delayed the release to begin with!

Does anyone know how much memory can be gained by deleting the useless sprint apps?

 

[revlis240]

does the fresh 2.0d keep Sprint navigation? its the only sprint app i may want to keep...

 

[Kelmar]

I read the other day that the bloatware is stored in a different partition of the memory and as such will not actually gain any additional storage space.

I would find the link, but I'm posting from my phone... a bit of a pain to go searching.

 

[JasonK75]

does the fresh 2.0d keep Sprint navigation? its the only sprint app i may want to keep...

No need to keep it. The new Google Navigator is on there and is cooler than the Sprint version. I love that you can see the streets on it!

 

[330D]

No need to keep it. The new Google Navigator is on there and is cooler than the Sprint version. I love that you can see the streets on it!

+1 google nav is the best part of 2.1, besides all the other best parts...