Official Android discussion thread

[FilledVoid]

SAPPHIRE PVT 32A SHIP S-ON H
HBOOT-1.33.0010 (SAP10000)
CPLD-12
RADIO-3.22.20.17 
Jun 2 2009, 17:28:28

This would be mine.

 

[amitabhishek]

Since yours is 32A; you will follow a slightly different modus operandi to flash your ROM. Having said that, you would first need certain tools in your toolkit to proceed further. First and foremost will be an Android SDK. This SDK will help you use the much needed fastboot commands. This SDK will help you take screenshots as well as updating the USB drivers.

First download the SDK from here:

*developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

I am assuming that you will use Windows. Use repos within the SDK to dowload the USB driver. To flash a HTC Magic phone your would need three components:

a) A recovery ROM
b) A radio ROM
c) Android ROM (it can be a Hero ROM, Cyanogenmod ROM etc).

Before you go further it would be prudent to check if the recovery ROM boots your device. Download and let me know if the following recovery ROM boots your phone:

*rapidshare.com/files/320335182/recovery-RA-sapphire-v1.5.2H.img

Once downloaded; copy this ROM into tools directory of you Android SDK. Grab your phone and turn it off. Now, while holding the Back button down, power it back on (as you did earlier). Once the fastboot screen is up on the phone, plug the phone into your computer with the USB cable.Your Windows system should ask for USB drivers now. If your OS is 32 bit use use the driver in x86 else use driver in amd64 subdirectory. The driver should install now. Now you are ready to boot your recovery ROM. Browse to tools directory and type:

c:\android-sdk-windows\tools>fastboot boot recovery-RA-sapphire-v1.5.2H.img

This will boot your phone using the ROM thats there on your PC and not your phone. Fiddle around here a bit and post me the output. Because as I said our phones are slightly different internally (yours 32A and and mine 32B) so the process will be slightly different. But dont try to write anything on your phone using this recovery ROM.TILL THIS POINT YOU HAVE NOT MADE ANY CHANGES ON YOUR PHONE. You can safely reboot to your phone OS anytime you want. Post me the output as well as content of the home (first) screen. This is important to proceed further .

 

[FilledVoid]

Downloaded *developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Downloaded *rapidshare.com/files/32033518...re-v1.5.2H.img

I can plug my device into my system using the USB Cable and the Fastboot option turns into Fastboot USB. However When I do plug the device it does not ask for the drivers for my device. Is it because I used HTC Sync at one point ? Either way I don;t get prompted to install the drivers at any point.

I browsed to the folder and then issued the fastboot command and I'm pretty sure the spelling is correct btu I get the following error .

downloading 'boot.img'... FAILED (remote not allowed)

 

[amitabhishek]

I can plug my device into my system using the USB Cable and the Fastboot option turns into Fastboot USB.

Good. At least your device (32A) supports remote booting.

I browsed to the folder and then issued the fastboot command and I'm pretty sure the spelling is correct btu I get the following error .

downloading 'boot.img'... FAILED (remote not allowed)

That's because fastboot is unable to communicate with you device because USB drivers are missing.

Q1: Did you manage to download drivers from SDK repos (irrespective of the fact that its not asking for one)?

Q2: Did Windows ask for drivers for the first time & you clicked 'No'?

Try uninstalling the HTC sync software for a while. I don't have it on my system.

 

[FilledVoid]

Yes I suspected as much. The reason I say this is because.

1. The command fastboot devices returns the device connected
2. However adb command does not list any devices at all. I will try to uninstall everything and give it another go .

Actually I did a bit of fooling around and I found that adb devices does list the devices but this only happens if I have booted up into Android on my Magic. If I go to the Fastboot menu it does not list the device. I have enabled USB Debugging also just inc ase thats the issue. I used USBDebug to remove all usb processes and started new but I get the same problem in the end. If I try to boot the recovery ROM I get the above error message.

 

[amitabhishek]

In case you haven't seen already, this is a very good tutorial on flashing Hero firmware on Magic. I followed this guide to flash my Magic.

But Hero firmware proved too be slow for my Magic so I moved on & flashed Cyanogenmod ROM and man this ROM rocks!!! I haven't looked back since then. But you need recovery ROM for either firmwares. So keep trying. Keep me updated the result will be worth the effort .

 

[dreams]

Good tutorial m8. I have ordered Hero and awaiting his delivery. Hope to c one for Hero too

 

[amitabhishek]

I can understand your eagerness coupled with anxiety dude. Keep us posted.

 

[dreams]

tnx and wil keep posted. Fingers crossed!!!

 

[FilledVoid]

Mission Accomplished. I'm on Amon Ra's 32A ROM . Its not a gorgeous Rom but it is a ridiculously fast one. I'll post some screenshots once I play with it more lol. It seems to be like a Google ION I believe. but it is definitely unlocked and functioning much better. Screenshots and more to come soon.

Cheers.

 

[kalpik]

Congrats!

 

[FilledVoid]

OMG This is outrageous lol. You have no idea what I can do with this. The GPS Plots me very correctly on the map . The presence of Android market is godly. I have now the availability of tons of applications. I need to get a Wi-Fi Router now lol. Any recommendations? Everything seems way better and I swear from the time Ive been using this now that I'm actually better on batter charge than I was before.

Somehow this makes me feel like a small kid back in a candy/toy store. Either way I'm goign to start posting a few adventures up . If you all have any tips for a new Android user please do post.

By the way after rooting this thing I can safely say that I have become the king of rooting perfect spl phones .

I might try the CyanogenMod soon but I think that Amon RA's mod has given me access to everything I need.

Oh Btw know any good GPRS Plans ? Cause I'm seriously going to be pushing the limit on this thing.

God bless those Developers who has spent their time to give this out to the people who wouldn't otherwise have access to it.

 

[kalpik]

I'm now jealous I want my Moto Milestone or Nexus One! Get your act together Google and Motorola!

Btw, any wifi router should do.. Go for ones compatible with DD-WRT.. You will get the same feeling you are getting after flashing your phone, when you flash the router to DD-WRT

 

[Pat]

I've been playing with my G1 since last few weeks and its fun! Truly, a geek's phone

 

[amitabhishek]

Mission Accomplished. I'm on Amon Ra's 32A ROM . Its not a gorgeous Rom but it is a ridiculously fast one. I'll post some screenshots once I play with it more lol. It seems to be like a Google ION I believe. but it is definitely unlocked and functioning much better. Screenshots and more to come soon.
Cheers.

Yay!!! Congrats.

Post screen shots ASAP of home screen and application screen. Any bonus application with ROM? I got ebuddy, Shazam, Amazon MP3 store, HTC Microsoft exchange server client, terminal emulator etc with my cyanogen ROM.

OMG This is outrageous lol. You have no idea what I can do with this. The GPS Plots me very correctly on the map . The presence of Android market is godly.
By the way after rooting this thing I can safely say that I have become the king of rooting perfect spl phones .
I might try the CyanogenMod soon but I think that Amon RA's mod has given me access to everything I need.
Oh Btw know any good GPRS Plans ? Cause I'm seriously going to be pushing the limit on this thing.
God bless those Developers who has spent their time to give this out to the people who wouldn't otherwise have access to it.

Man you have flashed a perfect SPL ROM. This is just great!! Post a tut because most of the users of Magic will end up with Airtel's version (32A) which is utter bullshit. Now that you have installed a rooted ROM these are the apps that you should download immediately from Market

a) apndroid : By default Android aways keeps you online (either through GPRS or wifi), this may result in a fat mobile bills and fast battery drainage. This app. will help you be off line when you don't want it.

b) Taskiller: In Android you cannot normally close an appliction (only minimize it); this application helps you close unwanted application in one click and free memory.

c) i Music : P2P music download application

d)e buddy: It has a great Android edition. Check it out.

e) Dolphin Browser: Very nice browser. Includes multi touch and tabbed browsing. Blazing fast.

f)call Location: This app. will tell tyou he location+service provider name for every incoming calls you get.

My GPRS plan is Vodafone599; it gives me 500MB download limit every month + 5P per 10KB or something. With apndroid this should be good enough. Ensure you take an EDGE connection.

I'm now jealous I want my Moto Milestone or Nexus One! Get your act together Google and Motorola

Dude get HTC magic - the most hacked android phone after G1. 32A version (Airtel's) comes with 292MB RAM which is blazing fast for most applications. Don't wait!!!

 

[kalpik]

Ill prefer to wait.. as i'm not dying for a new phone as of now.. Still have my trusty N82

 

[SunnyChahal]

Hey guys just fill me in please. What's this ROM flashing and all? Is it official? How to do it?

One more question, when's Android 2.0 coming for Hero?

 

[amitabhishek]

Ill prefer to wait.. as i'm not dying for a new phone as of now.. Still have my trusty N82

Keep us updated on their availability and pricing.

Hey guys just fill me in please. What's this ROM flashing and all? Is it official? How to do it?

One more question, when's Android 2.0 coming for Hero?

Android phones (esp. HTC ones) support ROM flashing this means that these devices gives power to replace OEM ROMs with custom ROMs. Custom ROMs are developed by independent developers and are often better than OEM ROMs. So any tech savyy user replaces the original ROM with these custom builds. Example of custom ROMs are Cyanogen ROM, Amon Ra's 32A ROM, haykuro ROM etc. To my understanding Cyanogen ROMs are most popular.

Often these ROMs provide features that are blocked or are not available in OEM ROMs. Though all this sounds very technical but actual flashing of a phone is not so difficult. Tutorials are available all over the web. Though this link talks about rooting; the discussion is equally valid for a custom/flashed ROM.

In some of the markets the service providers have pushed the update over OTA. I am not so sure about here. Do a Google search; Android 2.0 may be available in one of the modded ROMs.

 

[FilledVoid]

Yay!!! Congrats.

Thanks alot .

Post screen shots ASAP of home screen and application screen. Any bonus application with ROM? I got ebuddy, Shazam, Amazon MP3 store, HTC Microsoft exchange server client, terminal emulator etc with my cyanogen ROM.

Amon Ra is strict against using the htc Framework and I definitely think I can live without it. Furthermore the Amon Ra is purely magic + the Google applications(Maps, GTalk, Gmail, Market etc) which one would expect on the phone. Then of course there is added functionality like the ability to use Voice Commands, Bluetooth File transfer, Wireless tether etc. Which would explain the speed I get performance wise I guess.

Man you have flashed a perfect SPL ROM. This is just great!! Post a tut because most of the users of Magic will end up with Airtel's version (32A) which is utter bullshit. Now that you have installed a rooted ROM these are the apps that you should download immediately from Market

Yes flashing a perfect SPL was hell of an experience. The reason I got the first error message was because of the blasted SPL. On the contrary I was thinking it was an issue with installing the Android USB drivers wich can be a pain as well if proper attention is not given during the install process.

I promise you a simple tutorial and an explanation to show the process of rooting an Airtel htc Magic (32A) to some other ROM . In my case is Amon Ra ROM but there are tons out there like Cyan , King, MyHero, Amon RA, Qtek, Jac, etc.

a) apndroid : By default Android aways keeps you online (either through GPRS or wifi), this may result in a fat mobile bills and fast battery drainage. This app. will help you be off line when you don't want it.

Thank God, I need one of these lol. Luckily I believe Google implements some kind of Push system where it sends you a copy of the new mail once the rest is downloaded so I don't lose a ton of bandwidth each time it receives. But thats my cooked up theory it could be grossly wrong.

I willl definitely give the other applications a go but also I found out in the process you don't really need the market or anything but the USB cable and Android USB Drivers to install an application on the phone . Regardless of the SPL . Although it does involve using the command prompt .

My GPRS plan is Vodafone599; it gives me 500MB download limit every month + 5P per 10KB or something. With apndroid this should be good enough. Ensure you take an EDGE connection.

This plan sounds good. Ill have to find out how the range is in the area of my house first but it should definitely meet my needs.

Ill prefer to wait.. as i'm not dying for a new phone as of now.. Still have my trusty N82

I'd agree with this solely because of the following reasons. First of all htc made a huge mistake withholding Google applications on the Magic and not to mention having it locked this tight. I mean seriously technically you are paying for a phone which has a GPS Receiver but you have no application to use it. As it is Hero is quite expensive. I mean seriously you could put the same ROM on a Magic and hardly notice the difference. Remember that 90% of the folks who buy this thing are likely to be geeks or qualified to root the device anyway.

Now lets take it a notch up and look at the phones coming out. Droid, Nexus One other phones by htc there is going to be some tight competition for a smart phone segment even if its a niche category. These prices are going to come tumbling down. I see the Hero being sold at prices of New Magics when the Droid and One hits the Indian continent. So you need to consider whether you would like to spend that much of money on a phone which you would probably void the warranty and use or use a phone later at the same price with a warranty and the same or more features. However there's always the concept of the power of money at the moment an item is bought but that's well beyond my level of expertise.

Hey guys just fill me in please. What's this ROM flashing and all? Is it official? How to do it?

Heres a small summary. The Android Phones in India are being marketed by Telecoms like Airtel Vodaphone etc. Hence as such they have been locked in such a way that they stick with their network. Now htc Magic is in the Indian market and seems to be marketed by Airtel. That is they come in boxes with the Airtel Logo and benefits to Airtel customers . Whats funny is they provide unlocking codes also I believe to Unlock your phone top use on other carriers. Now note we have been speaking about the locked aspect of the phone.

Now comes the crappy end of the stick. Not only are these phones locked but they have been given out in such a way that would restrict you from doing stuff like Install applications or preventing you from utilizing the phone to the maximum efficiency. This is where the term rooting comes to play. Basically you are fixing the phone in such a way that you get root access to it and pretty much do anything you want (No, it doesn't make pizza) . Once you have gained access you can install one of the ROMs to give you the desired features you want. Furthermore you will find that rooted devices are much more fast, stable, easier to use etc. of course the ROM you pick also plays a huge factor in this as well.

I'll post a better guide when I'm not acting like I'm on steroids to give a better description. Sorry for the HUGE post.

*img96.imageshack.us/img96/125/htcmagic.jpg​

 

[amitabhishek]

Thank God, I need one of these lol. Luckily I believe Google implements some kind of Push system where it sends you a copy of the new mail once the rest is downloaded so I don't lose a ton of bandwidth each time it receives. But thats my cooked up theory it could be grossly wrong.

I willl definitely give the other applications a go but also I found out in the process you don't really need the market or anything but the USB cable and Android USB Drivers to install an application on the phone . Regardless of the SPL . Although it does involve using the command prompt .

Good post bro.!

Google does implement push email with gmail account. So if you are connected you will always get mail.

Since I use Cyanogen's ROM & formatted my SD card in both FAT32 & ext3; the apps are installed directly into SD card instead of precious RAM this is were Cyanogen ROM pwns even Nexus One ROM .

*img194.imageshack.us/img194/2171/devicet.png