Root Is the Incredible 2 dead?

[jmb275]

I've had my Incredible 2 since June 2011. I really hoped to get at least 2 years out of it...but it looks like it is not to be.

I rooted early on and enjoyed CM 7...at least until ICS and later JB came out at which point developers upgraded their apps making them incompatible with GB (thanks a lot). Since one of my most important apps wasn't working anymore, I took the plunge with CM9 (one of Aerovan's builds). I've been using that as my DD for a couple months now...but it really doesn't work very well. It's very laggy, camera sucks, reboots randomly, and many apps don't work reliably.

So here I am. I have a 1.5 year old phone that really doesn't work. No official ICS or JB, and custom ROMs are mostly broken (as near as I can tell), and my apps don't work on the old GB builds.

What is anyone doing with their Incredible 2 at this point? Has anyone found an ICS or JB build that actually works reliably as a DD? Or do you just run GB and accept that many apps just won't work properly?

 

[magdelaine]

I have been running Miui on my phone since forever, the Gingerbread version because I could never get any ICS rom to work on it with any stability.

However just yesterday i finally took the plunge again with the unofficial Miui ICS rom. I am so thrilled! It's like having a new phone. Everything is smooth as silk. There are a number of roms for the Dinc2 that have current, ongoing development; you can check out their threads on the XDA forums. I don't think CM9 is one of them.

So, to answer your question, Dinc2 is NOT dead! Now I'm going to go play with my "new" phone.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I have been very happy running good 'ol MIUI 2.3.4 and CM7. What apps don't work? All the ones I want do besides Google Now.

 

[jmb275]

I have been very happy running good 'ol MIUI 2.3.4 and CM7. What apps don't work? All the ones I want do besides Google Now.

Well, the biggest one is the app for my bank. I have an online bank so the mobile deposit feature is important to me. But the stupid developers made it so it won't run on anything earlier than ICS. It's fine to say that's stupid of them, but the reality is that I need it to work...and it doesn't.

Besides that, I have to confess that I'm pretty upset with HTC for basically abandoning a phone that's not even 2 years old! I mean at least support it for the cell carrier phone subsidy cycle!

 

[magdelaine]

Well, the biggest one is the app for my bank. I have an online bank so the mobile deposit feature is important to me. But the stupid developers made it so it won't run on anything earlier than ICS. It's fine to say that's stupid of them, but the reality is that I need it to work...and it doesn't.

Besides that, I have to confess that I'm pretty upset with HTC for basically abandoning a phone that's not even 2 years old! I mean at least support it for the cell carrier phone subsidy cycle!

If you haven't tried this ICS Miui one, you really should: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1830675

AtheistReverend...have you tried it yet? It's turned off on me once but that's the only hiccup I've had. If you are already running Miui you will love it.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

If you haven't tried this ICS Miui one, you really should: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1830675

AtheistReverend...have you tried it yet? It's turned off on me once but that's the only hiccup I've had. If you are already running Miui you will love it.

I haven't tried it in a while. The last time I did the cdma version wasn't really working.
I'd love to, but time is tight at the moment. I'll keep it in mind, thanks.

 

[magdelaine]

Definitely do. I haven't tried any new ROMs in a long time and I was surprised to find it such a polished product. Nice that folks are still working on our Dinc2.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

Definitely do. I haven't tried any new ROMs in a long time and I was surprised to find it such a polished product. Nice that folks are still working on our Dinc2.

Which version specially have you had luck with? I see a lot of people still having trouble getting it to boot or get signal.

You're a US Verizon user, right?

 

[magdelaine]

Which version specially have you had luck with? I see a lot of people still having trouble getting it to boot or get signal.

You're a US Verizon user, right?

Yes, I'm on Verizon. I installed the CDMA version under "Downloads". It really helped that I followed instructions and used the 4EXT recovery instead of CMR. Signal bars are very low, but I don't know if that actually reflects a connection problem because everything seems to work.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

Are you using the one off xda by khamsakamal? Because it says vivo in the download for cdma. Not vivow.
Can you provide a link to the one you downloaded?

 

[magdelaine]

Are you using the one off xda by khamsakamal? Because it says vivo in the download for cdma. Not vivow.
Can you provide a link to the one you downloaded?

Huh. Just looked at the version I downloaded and installed and it certainly does say "vivo" and not "vivow". Forgive my ignorance but why is this important? I think you must have found the one I downloaded...

 

[magdelaine]

I should mention that there is one problem I'm having with it, and that's that it loops on boot several times before staying loaded for good. If I didn't wait I would think it was stuck but it always seems to resolve in 5 minutes or so.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

Vivo is the incredible s. Vivow is the incredible 2.
The op has just fixed that issue (mislabeling), but boot loops are a deal breaker. I still might try it and hope I get lucky and don't have the loops, thanks for the help!

 

[jmb275]

Hey thanks magdelaine, I'll give it a whirl. I don't have much to lose at this point. I think, however, that you underscored my point - that despite a few attempts at a custom ROM there really isn't anything solid past gingerbread, and ergo HTC appears to have abandoned us.

That's what irks me more than anything. I can't say I'll be purchasing any other HTC products in the near future.

 

[jmb275]

Well the MIUI install from magdelaine did NOT work for me. I tried it 3 times. Used 4ext recovery and everything. Followed all instructions but every time I flashed it and then rebooted it just hung on the HTC startup screen.

Any other suggestion for an ICS or JB ROM? I'm guessing at this point I should just go back to GB.

 

[magdelaine]

How long did you let it hang? It took a pretty long time to boot the first time since things are being created in the cache. I usually will just leave the phone a while until things are sorted out. Also, after I started adding apps and data it would occasionally go into a boot loop that would resolve itself after it went through the boot process 5 or more times. It doesn't do that any more, but I've learned to be patient with start up.

I see what you mean regarding HTC...it's just that ever since I rooted my OG to get the latest ROM so I didn't have to wait for VZ and Motorola to get around to sending an OTA I haven't cared much about development from the manufacturer/carrier.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I am now running the 2.12.29 MIUI4 and loving it! Too many people having issues with the newest version. Lots of people enjoying the 2.12.29,
Which version were you flashing?

Somewhere in the MIUI-iverse I saw instructions that said to full wipe with 4ext, then flash the rom.zip, then wipe dalvik and cache, then fix permissions, then boot and let it settle.
This is what I did (and later flashed Control suite, miui now, us local force, and v6) and have had no problems.

 

[magdelaine]

I am now running the 2.12.29 MIUI4 and loving it! Too many people having issues with the newest version. Lots of people enjoying the 2.12.29,
Which version were you flashing?

Somewhere in the MIUI-iverse I saw instructions that said to full wipe with 4ext, then flash the rom.zip, then wipe data and cache, then fix permissions, then boot and let it settle.
This is what I did (and later flashed Control suite, miui now, us local force, and v6) and have had no problems.

w00t! Congrats! Could you tell me more about the other things you flashed?

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I can't link to them right now, but most of them are in the OP on xda under downloads. The actual instructions and script for the v6 supercharger require doing a search on xda. Easy to find, confusing to implement. Not sure if it really does anything though.

Control panel just gives you some more options with clock display in the status bar and stuff like that. MINI Now is Google now themed for MIUI on ICS, and force us local is flashed over it to ensure you aren't getting Chinese results.

I do however recommend a paid app that made a huge difference for me on cm7, it's called seeder in the play store and it's about $1.50.
It was harder to tell if it helped as much on miui, but I am confident it did speed things up because of how well it worked before.

 

[flyinjoe]

I am now running the 2.12.29 MIUI4 and loving it! Too many people having issues with the newest version. Lots of people enjoying the 2.12.29,
Which version were you flashing?

Somewhere in the MIUI-iverse I saw instructions that said to full wipe with 4ext, then flash the rom.zip, then wipe data and cache, then fix permissions, then boot and let it settle.
This is what I did (and later flashed Control suite, miui now, us local force, and v6) and have had no problems.

I'm confused by what you did. After you flashed the rom, you wiped data. Doesn't that wipe what you installed when you flashed the ROM? I just want to make sure i'm understanding the directions before I try this myself.

Also, the 2.1.29 file name says it is for vivo, not vivow. Vivo is the Incredible S. Just want to make sure it is an Incredible 2 you installed this on.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I'm confused by what you did. After you flashed the rom, you wiped data. Doesn't that wipe what you installed when you flashed the ROM? I just want to make sure i'm understanding the directions before I try this myself.

Also, the 2.1.29 file name says it is for vivo, not vivow. Vivo is the Incredible S. Just want to make sure it is an Incredible 2 you installed this on.

Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!

I meant DALVIK not data!

Sorry!

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I'm confused by what you did. After you flashed the rom, you wiped data. Doesn't that wipe what you installed when you flashed the ROM? I just want to make sure i'm understanding the directions before I try this myself.

Also, the 2.1.29 file name says it is for vivo, not vivow. Vivo is the Incredible S. Just want to make sure it is an Incredible 2 you installed this on.

And it must be for vivow, because it worked on my DInc2, and it says CDMA. I didn't use the rebased one.
I guess he missed that one when he corrected most of the labels.

 

[jmb275]

How long did you let it hang?

I think about 2 min the first time, 10 min the second time, and 12-15 min the third time. Could it really take longer than that? If so I'll try again.

I see what you mean regarding HTC...it's just that ever since I rooted my OG to get the latest ROM so I didn't have to wait for VZ and Motorola to get around to sending an OTA I haven't cared much about development from the manufacturer/carrier.

Yes, and I haven't cared much about it either since I rooted over a year ago. But I also think the lack of HTC support results in fewer and fewer custom ROM developers spending time on it. Why should they bother with the DINC 2 when HTC has moved on to other things? Rest assured my next phone will be a Nexus...or at least a Motorola (as they seem to be better at updating).

 

[jmb275]

I can't link to them right now, but most of them are in the OP on xda under downloads.

@TheAtheistReverend- which OP over on XDA did you download from? I checked the ones on the sticky at the top of this site but they weren't it (I don't think). Your link just goes the download but the XDA op.

 

[jmb275]

@TheAtheistReverend- which OP over on XDA did you download from? I checked the ones on the sticky at the top of this site but they weren't it (I don't think). Your link just goes the download but the XDA op.

@TheAtheistReverend-
Alright, I finally figured out which thread on XDA and found your comments at the end. So you said in that op that you flashed the latest control panel suite and didn't work but then you flashed the corresponding control panel suite and it worked? Is that right? Where did you get the corresponding control panel suite?

Also, did you just use the latest V6 supercharger? Thanks

UPDATE: oops, NM I think I found it. Here's a link to the 2.12.29 version of Control Panel Suite
MIUI Control Panel Suite VIVO 2.12.29