The BIG 2.1 Thread

[CRPercodani]

This is kinda unrelated, but if you rooted and did not do anything else will you still get updates pushed by verizon???

Yes you will still get OTA's if your rooted. You would have to rename/delete the otacerts.zip file to stop OTA's. One thing to remember is the next update they push will more then likely take away root access and someone will need to find a new exploit so if you need root then I suggest renaming otacerts.zip to otacerts.bak and wait till the update gets published on the web and has been rooted then manually apply it.

 

[Fadelight]

Where can we find the fixes for corporate calendar, etc. Are they releasing a new rom with those fixes or where can I find more info?

thanks,
kg.

Absolutely. Rev.02 of the release already has the fixes applied for Corporate calendar, eri.xml, live wallpaper, and a few other little problems. I didn't include the link because usually posting links to one forum in another forum is a big no-no. Not sure how the admin here feels about that. If they say sure, then I will post the link for everyone, but a bit of searching at alldroid will get you what you need in the meantime.

They are still working on the fix for the keyboard, and certain apps still are not working. Some paid apps still won't even show up in the market.

The former will probably be fixed soon enough. I have emailed the dev of Root Explorer with all of my information, as per his request. This was his email to me...

Hello Chris,
Can you tell me which phone/ROM/Root Explorer version you are using? I’ve just flashed a 2.1 ROM on my Hero and Root Explorer 2.4 is working fine. The ROM I’m using is “HERO21 – Community Release v1.7”. A download link for your ROM would also be helpful.
Best Regards

The issue with the paid apps not showing up in market is a DRM issue and cannot be solved from out end. We will have to wait for Google to take care of that. They had similar issues with the G1 when it was rooted, though, so I have faith.

 

[Fadelight]

 

[famac!]

Fadelight, any changes in 2.1 to the way the phone handles POP3 mail? Did they fix all the bugs with it?

 

[Fadelight]

Fadelight, any changes in 2.1 to the way the phone handles POP3 mail? Did they fix all the bugs with it?

That is one question I honestly couldn't answer. Sorry. I have been using Gmail since back when it was invite only.

 

[GDroid]

Did any of you guys try running 2.1 with the current version of Home++? If so, any comments?

 

[Fadelight]

Did any of you guys try running 2.1 with the current version of Home++? If so, any comments?

As I stated in my last post... not that much further up the page...

To answer a couple of questions/comments I have seen posted so far...


1. Home++, GDE, and 91Panda ALL work with 2.1. They do not, however, retain the new app menu from 2.1. It will be the same plain-jane app menu you see now.

2. gps works. Everyone is hearing the rumors, but no one that tries it has confirmed them. It seems to be working for everyone.

3. the eri banner on this build doesn't say "Verizon Wireless". it says "T-CDMA 64". There is a fix for this.

4. The backlight issue for the keyboard has a patch available, but it still doesn't function as it should. As of this post, the only patch available will leave the backlight on all the time. They are working on it.

5. They have the animated wallpaper working. Earlier today the patch for this was causing the 3.5mm headset jack to stop outputting audio, but this has been fixed now as well.

6. No, corporate Calendar doesn't come on the ROM. Yes, there is a fix to get it on there.

7. Using the return button to get back to your home screen rather than using the home button causes a momentary issue where you cannot switch to another home screen. As of this post, there is no patch for it.

8. the LED for third party apps does not function. Again, as of this post, there is no patch that I know of. Yes, the LED works with default android apps.

9. Yes there is an issue with some paid apps in market not showing up. The only one I had problems with was "Weatherbug Elite", but there are others. "Weather Widget - Donate" works just fine for me.

10. Certain apps are not yet usable on 2.1. "Root Explorer" is the only one in my collection that does not.

11. When you change your wallpaper, your app menu text will become offset. Don't panic... rebooting your phone solves this. Yes, it will happen every time you change your wallpaper. No, there is not yet a fix that I know of for the issue.

Did I miss anything?

 

[Robobandit]

Fadelight,

Is that a theme you're using? specifically for the notification bar and the lock screen.. I'd kinda like to remove the verizon wireless text from it and customize the color of the notification bar.

I recognize the grass as one of the animated wallpapers in 2.1..

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fadelight]

Fadelight,

Is that a theme you're using? specifically for the notification bar and the lock screen.. I'd kinda like to remove the verizon wireless text from it and customize the color of the notification bar.

I recognize the grass as one of the animated wallpapers in 2.1..

Thanks in advance.

Yes and no. The Icons were sourced from a theme on xda-developers called "Buuf", created by DeaDnuLL.

The lack of "Verizon Wireless" is simply an altered eri.xml file used as part of the patch to remove the CDMA eri banner from the phone.

The statusbar, slider, altered stock buttons, and transparent power widget are my own work.

The icons on the desktop are from the "Glared Orb" icon pack... free in market. They can be used via "Better Cut".

The background is, in deed, one of the live wallpapers. It looks much better at night. (The wallpaper changes according to the time of day. ) I'll post a night time screen shot in a minute... I am just wrapping up reinstalling all of my apps from this last update I did.







On another note, I have been proven wrong... in a very good way. They have found a workaround so the DRM apps work again.

 

[Fadelight]

This is the default app menu for 2.1. (You won't see it if you use a home replacement, though.)

 

[GDroid]

As I stated in my last post... not that much further up the page...

My bad, was in a rush to GTFO of work, so I missed it.

 

[Robobandit]

Thanks for the info, Fadelight.

I managed to update the apk for the framework to remove the verizon wireless logo..

Imagine my horror, as I sit at the super user prompt carefully tapping out commands on the keyboard.. I had just typed the command to copy the framework-res.apk into the system folder.. when the phone rings..

I end the call and go back to the terminal.. and start to type in chmod 644 and the phone reboots itself..

it comes back up with blank wallpaper and lock screen.. thankfully I was able to re-copy and complete the commands without being interrupted again..

That was a bit of a scare

 

[Fadelight]

lol GDroid.

Robo... had the same exact thing happen to me last night, only with a text instead.


Here are some screenies of the Gallery.

You can swipe through them, but the gallery does not support multitouch.

 

[Wiggles]

im really liking 2.1 its really great. The battery Ive noticed well at least to me its lasting sooo much longer oh my gosh. but ya i just opened this up to you guys incase you want me to test something on it or have any questions I may be able to answer

 

[GDroid]

Are you using a MS Exchange corporate e-mail account? If so, I will start asking questions, or you can just tell us if any improvements were made.

 

[square]

did you miss this? http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/29439-big-2-1-thread.html

 

[Wiggles]

No just a regular data plan sorry. Well what I've noticed is the battery life is improved, it seems more stable, its like quicker to respond to things, when you open up the keyboard it automatically unlocks if you dont use a pattern, its just overall much smoother and faster.

 

[Wiggles]

lol I didnt see that square

 

[Redflea]

The background is, in deed, one of the live wallpapers. It looks much better at night. (The wallpaper changes according to the time of day. )

That's the first eye-candy item from 2.1 that got my attention...that's definitely cool.

 

[Fadelight]

Appologies for taking so long between uploading screenshots... the site I host my pictures on (myspace) is INSANELY slow today, and keeps having problems.

In any event... One of the features I like best about 2.1 is the new clock. I am sure others will agree with me as well, since there were so many posts about this previously.

For starters, there is an icon in the app menu for the clock now... it doesn't have to be docked, and there is no need for a 3rd party app or widget. Second is the fact that it dims a lot. It is nearly black, but still readable. The lights on the bottom of the phone remain on, but only for about 1 minute. Then they go out completely, but the screen will stay on.

You can also view it horizontal now... not just in landscape.

 

[Fadelight]

The "Car Home" looks about the same... but you will notice that the background is now transparent instead of gray.

And this is something that is puzzling me. It could be that I've just missed it before, so someone feel free to correct me, but... was there ever a GPS symbol on the camera screen before? There is now.

 

[CRPercodani]

The issue with the paid apps not showing up in market is a DRM issue and cannot be solved from out end. We will have to wait for Google to take care of that. They had similar issues with the G1 when it was rooted, though, so I have faith.

You probably know this already but they have a fix for paid apps. It was a simple build.prop file that needed to be edited.

 

[Fadelight]

You probably know this already but they have a fix for paid apps. It was a simple build.prop file that needed to be edited.

Yep. Saw it, did it, and posted about it a few posts up.

On another note, I have been proven wrong... in a very good way. They have found a workaround so the DRM apps work again.

I was SOOOOO happy to read about that. I have at least two programs that were DRM that I use every single day.

 

[CRPercodani]

DOH, I didn't read all your posts slowly, my bad. Quick question about Better Cut, does it change icons in the app drawer or just on the home screens?

 

[Fadelight]

DOH, I didn't read all your posts slowly, my bad. Quick question about Better Cut, does it change icons in the app drawer or just on the home screens?

It changes them on the home screen only.

Your solution for the app drawer could best be handled with a program called "Metamorph", which is actually designed to handle themes. I have tried it with 2.1, and it works perfectly for everything except the framework-res.apk folder.

It is a free program. I am not sure how tough it would be to make a theme from scratch... I cheated. I downloaded a full theme, then saved my images over the top of whatever images were already there, then used metamorph to load them onto the phone.

There was a problem with Metamorph on the Droid, but it is a simple fix. If you want to give it a shot, I can give you a quick how-to via PM.

You can see how it changed the default icons in the app menu in this picture right here...