Root 5.5.886 to ICS

[chazz1005]

I'm on 5.5.886 and rooted but would like to get to ICS using the best and most direct route.

Thanks for the help!

 

[johnlgalt]

Hi, chazz1005, and welcome to the forums.

Since we were talking via PM, let me get all that caught up here and we'll move forward.

 

[johnlgalt]

Hey bro,

I have a bionic but it is currently on 886. It's been out of service for a while now and I had to do a factory restore on it shortly after I left verizon. I wasn't able to receive any updates and had no reason to use it so it sat around for a while.
I just recently rooted it using motofail and modded it so now I'm using it on AT&T. I've been wanting to update my phone for weeks now but I haven't been able to find the update files, especially to 893. I know its been a while but I'm hoping you still have them so please send the files to me if you do. I expect I'll probably have to do another factor restore but hopefully I won't need to.

Thanks in advance!

You might be better off just skipping over the updates and using the FXZ instead, since you modded it the updates may not take. Of course, that would depend upon the mods, and what version you want the phone to be at.

I have all the files (updates and mods, including the FXZ for the latest ICS). Using the FXZ would be the cleanest route, especially if you want to get to ICS, as we recommend doing a factory data reset when moving to ICS anyway.

Let me know about the mods and where you want to finally end up at and then I'll get you the appropriate links.

Sent from my rooted BIONIC running ICS 6.7.247 (!) via Tapatalk 2

I want to get to ICS so which ever way is the smoothest I'll go for. I'll just follow your advice cuz I'm sure you know a lot more than I do.

Lol thanks. I need to know what you are on now.

Oh I'm on 5.5.886 right now. All I did was root it with motofail and used the forever root. After that, I used radiocomm to turn on the GSM features of the phone and made it so that I can use it on AT&T, which I am right now. I didn't install and change roms, kernels, or anything like that. I've just been tweaking things here n there and I honestly don't remember every single thing I've done so that's why I was thinking I should do a factory reset and then upgrade from there

You can try factory reset and then upgrade and then upgrade and then upgrade and then upgrade....or, you can get titanium backup, make a backup of your data, copy your internal storage data to your HD, and then use the 6.7.246 FXZ to go directly to ICS - Personally, the backups will help keep your data, but more than a few apps will go stupid and will (probably) need to be uninstalled and then re-installed from market. A (very unlikely few) may not even be compatible.

The best bet in your situation is to probably do the second method. You can skip the Titanium Backup if you just want to start from scratch, and don't mind your apps being clean slate, so that you ahve to set them all up again.

I would personally go the FXZ route myself - but I am a very technically savvy person, and I've been dealing with this phone since day one, learning its intricacies and nuances from the get go. Plus, I'm heavy into he rooting community, so....since there is no restriction on being able to root ICS, that is a good thing, meaning you can blast away everything and then start from scratch.

If you don't want to erase your internal storage, I can help you accomplish that as well, by modifying the script in the FXZ to skip that step. Honestly, in the situation that you're in, going directly to ICS via FXZ is probably your best bet.

Going straight to ICS sounds good! I already have the pro version of titanium backup and have already backed up all of my apps so I'm probably all set to get this started.

OK, so here is what we discussed in PM.

 

[johnlgalt]

OK, so, Chazz, are you still with AT&T? Are you using the phone on AT&T, is what I really mean to ask....

Sorry, that is what I meant when I asked what you were on - not the build, but the carrier.

 

[chazz1005]

Yeah I'm still using it on AT&T. I'm hoping the process will be the same on radiocomm after I upgrade

 

[johnlgalt]

It would be best to find that out before we begin - b/c of the locked bootloader, it doesn't allow going backward, and if you upgrade to ICS, you cannot go back to GB in any way, manner, fashion, or form. IOW, if you cannot flash the ICS version of the BIONIC over to AT&T via RadioComm, then you're hosed and out of a (working) phone.

Where did you find the instructions for flashing this over to AT&T?

 

[chazz1005]

I first saw it on a video on youtube and then after A LOT of time on google, I was able to find the latest version of radiocomm along with the instructions. I didn't save the link but I'm sure I can find it again. There are a few bugs and the data drops sometimes but overall it works pretty well. I was thinking that the dropped data connections was connected to the connectivity problems the bionic had when it first came out. I haven't been able to find anything online regarding the connection problems the bionic has on AT&Ts network so I guess I'll just be the guinea pig

 

[johnlgalt]

We'll want that link. Also, I need to verify a couple of things in it.

The connectivity issues you face may, indeed, be due to the fact that yours is still on .886. Connectivity was mostly fixed only after 5.9.902 (2 updates from your .886) but seemed ot revert a bit in .905. .246 has been amazing for me (well, I'm actually on a leaked .247, but I think I'm reverting tonight to the official myself).

As for RadioComm itself, I think I have the latest and greatest, 11.x, right?

 

[chazz1005]

The one I have is 11.12.2.. it may or may not be the latest and greatest but it worked for me. Here is the link to the instructions that I followed:

Droid Bionic on AT&T or T-Mobile

I was already rooted when I found these instructions so I just started with the part on radiocomm and it worked

 

[johnlgalt]

Same as I have installed. Let me watch the video and get back to you on this.

 

[chazz1005]

As far as the link to radiocomm, I really don't remember where I got that one from but it took me a long time to find it. I just know that the first version I had was a really old one and I probably installed 4 or 5 different versions until I got that one I have right now

 

[chazz1005]

Sounds good. Thanks man

 

[johnlgalt]

Oh, holy mackerel! it's simply the disabling and enabling of GSM to make it work. My understanding is that the BIONIC (ICS) already supports that. Let me double check.

 

[johnlgalt]

OK, I made a post in a thread about this very thing - see http://androidforums.com/motorola-d...lte-gsm-hspa-image-intensive.html#post5181490

Let's wait until one of them have replied before we go any further. If we're lucky, lars may reply - he's a pretty good whiz at this thing too. Maybe the OP or someone else might also see it....

 

[chazz1005]

Aight coo.. I hope we can get this done. Thanks a lot for the help bro!

 

[johnlgalt]

Lol, no worries, mayne. This is what we do here.

You're lucky in that you caught me at a time when I started coming back here - I've been on hiatus b/c I'm defending my Masters thesis in less than 2 weeks. but, since I'm about to 'downgrade' from the .247 ICS leak to the official .246 ICS release, I needed to do a bit of reading.

 

[chazz1005]

Good luck with that lol. Hey was reading through that post and saw one of Lars' post on Oct 25. He said GSM works on ICS so I would just have to do the radiocomm process again. That pretty much covers our question right?

 

[johnlgalt]

Yup, that is exactly what I'm trying to find out.

Actually, I can test part of it myself....hold tight.

 

[johnlgalt]

Oh, for crying out loud. In the phone settings (from *#*#INFO#*#*, not under settings in Android) I can select from any of the following:

• WCDMA preferred
• GSM only
• WCDMA only
• GSM auto (PRL)
• CDMA auto (PRL)
• CDMA only
• EvDo only
• GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
• LTE/CDMA/EvDo
• LTE/GSM/WCDMA
• LTE/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA
• LTE only
• LTE/WCDMA
• Unknown

However, the instructions in that link you posted earlier say GSM/UMTS, which is not one of the options. I think, though, that you should be able to get it working one way or another, even if it means using RadioComm again. I'm just worried that using RadioComm on this phone with ICS + the locked bootloader will brick your phone, and that is why I am hesitant to jump into anything.

Mind waiting for a day or so until one of those folks in that thread reply? I'm usually pretty gung ho about trying stuff out, but that is when it is *my* phone, not someone else's phone. I can usually fix most thing that I might do to my phone, but if I am not there physically, it's a lot harder to troubleshoot if something goes wrong....

 

[chazz1005]

I'm pretty gung ho myself man so don't worry. I wanna try it out and if it ends up bricking my phone, then oh well. I do care about the phone but at the same time I think it'll work so I'm willing to risk it. Let's just go ahead with the upgrade..

 

[chazz1005]

It won't be your fault and I definitely won't blame you if something goes wrong lol

 

[johnlgalt]

I'd still like to err on the side of caution.

however, I can say this - you'll need the links from my signature - USB drivers (latest thus far) and RSD Lite 5.7 (Latest that works with the BIONIC). So go ahead and grab those.

 

[chazz1005]

Got em