Stumped and need advice with T-Mobile G2

[Guest Largoh]

I'll explain my situation in as much detail as possible.

I got my G2 yesterday and updated it to the T-Mobile ROM 2.73.110.26. It does what it needs to do, but I'm really looking forward to Android 2.1 this month.

While I wait for 2.1, I wanted to put MoDaCo on it but I'm a bit stumped.

I found this post and tried following it: http://android.modaco.com/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=1192188

I did the goldcard bit, but did not follow step 20 on the HOW-TO for creating a gold card as it says to downgrade to 2.73.405.5, but surely that's a higher version than I currently have?

So I'm a bit stuck and not sure what the hell is going on.

I'm usually ok with this kinda stuff, but I REALLY don't want to brick my phone.

There's nandroid mentioned around too, and I'm not sure where or how to use that, but to be fair I've not looked into that properly yet.

So what's the deal with having to wait for T-Mobile ROMs? What's the point? Can I not just upgrade to another official ROM and still have full functions with my T-Mobile SIM (Unlimted texts, free minutes and unlimited interwebs)?

Very confused, not sure what steps to take. Not sure if I should just wait for the official t-mobile 2.1 update. If I do wait, I'll be missing out on some cool features imo.

Cheers

EDIT:

I've also read about radio updates. I'd really like to update this as I get a 1 bar signal in my house, where-as on my HTC HD2 I get full bars.

I get 3 bars on my G2 if it's on the table but it drops to 1 bar when I pick it up xD

Any pointers on that would be great too. cheers.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Largoh

[Guest Dr. dre]

I'll explain my situation in as much detail as possible.

I got my G2 yesterday and updated it to the T-Mobile ROM 2.73.110.26. It does what it needs to do, but I'm really looking forward to Android 2.1 this month.

While I wait for 2.1, I wanted to put MoDaCo on it but I'm a bit stumped.

I found this post and tried following it: http://android.modaco.com/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=1192188

I did the goldcard bit, but did not follow step 20 on the HOW-TO for creating a gold card as it says to downgrade to 2.73.405.5, but surely that's a higher version than I currently have?

So I'm a bit stuck and not sure what the hell is going on.

I'm usually ok with this kinda stuff, but I REALLY don't want to brick my phone.

There's nandroid mentioned around too, and I'm not sure where or how to use that, but to be fair I've not looked into that properly yet.

So what's the deal with having to wait for T-Mobile ROMs? What's the point? Can I not just upgrade to another official ROM and still have full functions with my T-Mobile SIM (Unlimted texts, free minutes and unlimited interwebs)?

Very confused, not sure what steps to take. Not sure if I should just wait for the official t-mobile 2.1 update. If I do wait, I'll be missing out on some cool features imo.

Cheers

EDIT:

I've also read about radio updates. I'd really like to update this as I get a 1 bar signal in my house, where-as on my HTC HD2 I get full bars.

I get 3 bars on my G2 if it's on the table but it drops to 1 bar when I pick it up xD

Any pointers on that would be great too. cheers.

Dude if you have done the Goldcard thing just downgrade your ROM to the specified version and after that go here :-

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-hero...on-your-device/

to flash a custom recovery on your phone to flash MCR 3.2

[Guest kieranc]

I did the goldcard bit, but did not follow step 20 on the HOW-TO for creating a gold card as it says to downgrade to 2.73.405.5, but surely that's a higher version than I currently have?

So I'm a bit stuck and not sure what the hell is going on.

I'm usually ok with this kinda stuff, but I REALLY don't want to brick my phone.

I was in a very similar situation, brand new phone but the goldcard method DOES work and all the information you need is out there.

The reason for the minor down/upgrade as far as i can tell is to make a vulnerability available for us to exploit to gain root. it's fixed in the newer versions so we have to get back to a version we can exploit, only was to do this is with a goldcard. my first attempt with the goldcard didn't work either but I tried a different SD card and the 2nd time it all went fine. you'll need to use flashrec when you've booted the downgraded rom, the other methods for installing a recovery image won't work.

keep at it! it took me most of a day but once it's done, you don't need to worry again, you've got a recovery image you can do what you like with. another unexpected benefit of this method is you lose the t-mobile splash screen! happy days :P

good luck

[Guest Largoh]

Righto, cheers guys. I'll go ahead with it. I spent all day yesterday playing with settings ect on the phone, getting my contacts on it ect and now I'm gunna be wiping it xD Oh the joy!

Anyways, I'll get on with that not, cheers.

[Guest Largoh]

Getting somewhere. Got CyanogenMod v1.4 on when I hold Home and Power button. Did a Nandroid backup, need to figure out what to do next now. It's a shame all the info is so spread out, makes it a bit harder for newbs like me xD

[Guest Dr. dre]

Getting somewhere. Got CyanogenMod v1.4 on when I hold Home and Power button. Did a Nandroid backup, need to figure out what to do next now. It's a shame all the info is so spread out, makes it a bit harder for newbs like me xD

Go for Amon Ra recovery image that's better :-

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=561124

For the Custom ROM go here :-

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-hero...online-kitchen/

All the instruction are here.

[Guest Largoh]

Sorry about the tripple post, but I'm a bit stuck now.

Tried to follow this: http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-hero...on-your-device/

and now I just get: downloading 'boot.img'... FAILED (remote: not allow)

Someone mentions that the device is not rooted? Do I need to install a rooted generic ROM now or something? Can't find anything covering this tbh.

EDIT:

My message above this comment may be irrelevant. Taking your advice now Dre, thanks.

Will see how this goes.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Largoh

[Guest Largoh]

Excellent, I did it! I did the radio update too and now rather than 1 bar I get 4 to 3 bars.

It's quite simple when you're pointed to the right place, thank you very much for the help to all of you.

I do have a few remaining questions however.

Firstly, Bluetooth Discovery mode.

I've seen this mentioned many time and never found a fix other than for WM.

Is there any patch or anything that will turn discovery on permanently? My car stereo with BT works by searching every now and then for discoverable decives. I used to be able to just get in the car and leave the devices to it, but now I have to sit fiddling for a while, which is a PITA.

Even a widget to turn discovery on for the 2 minutes would be better imo. All I can find is a Turn bluetooth on or off widget.

Secondly, now I have this MoDaCo 3.2 ROM on here, am I able to upgrade to the T-Mobile Android 2.1 ROM when that's released? I know I'll lose my root ect if I did this, but is it possible?

Is MoDaCo 4.0 a 2.1 build? I understand that currently not all features are working with MoDaCo using 2.1, will this change once HTC release 2.1? I'm abit confused there.

Thanks for the time and patients you guys have with newbies like me.

/virtualHandShake

[Guest Dr. dre]

Firstly, Bluetooth Discovery mode.

I've seen this mentioned many time and never found a fix other than for WM.

Is there any patch or anything that will turn discovery on permanently? My car stereo with BT works by searching every now and then for discoverable decives. I used to be able to just get in the car and leave the devices to it, but now I have to sit fiddling for a while, which is a PITA.

Even a widget to turn discovery on for the 2 minutes would be better imo. All I can find is a Turn bluetooth on or off widget.

Secondly, now I have this MoDaCo 3.2 ROM on here, am I able to upgrade to the T-Mobile Android 2.1 ROM when that's released? I know I'll lose my root ect if I did this, but is it possible?

Is MoDaCo 4.0 a 2.1 build? I understand that currently not all features are working with MoDaCo using 2.1, will this change once HTC release 2.1? I'm abit confused there.

You can always check the 'market' for apps, actually I don't use bluetooth at all So...

Yes! you can always update to the official ROM's by HTC or T-Mobile anytime you want, Yes! MCR 4.0 will be a 2.1 update based ROM and Paul(The Main Man) will only release that ROM when HTC releases the 2.1 ROM officially.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Dr. dre

[Guest Largoh]

Awesome. Can't wait. If I get on with MoDaCo then I'll wait for Paul to release 4.0.

As for the Market. I've found nothing so far, been searching for about 48 hours now. Found a few threads with the same problem but they don't ever amount to anything. I guess it's just an ugly spot on this awesome phone.

Thanks again for your help. Hopefully anyone else in the same boat as me will find this thread useful.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Largoh

[Guest zorm]

I don't know if this affects your use case, but bluetooth is pretty crappy under Android 1.5. When we get the 2.1 upgrade it will be much more comprehensive. If it still doesn't do what you want, try the market then, as it will only ever show you apps suitable for your phone & atm you have 1.5 on it s won't see any that require a higher OS version.

[Guest kendon]

there was a similar thread on xda about the bt being discoverable for only 2 mins causing problems with car stereos. i don't use bt and don't have at all, lol, but i don't think that a 3rd party app can solve this. bt is crappy under 1.5, that is correct. i am using villain5.02, the latest 2.1 leak, and the discoverable still has a countdown of 120 seconds, so i don't think it is gonna change...

edit: and just to clear things up:

		   2.73		   .		  405			   .				 5

		   2.73		   .		  110			   .				26

gen. version of the rom		 netw. provider			 build version of the rom

which means that 26 is higher/newer than 5. iirc 110 means t-mob uk, 405 is general htc (unbranded).

Edited April 1, 2010 by kendon

[Guest zorm]

Under 2.0+ bluetooth's discoverable phase still defaults to 120s but can be raised on a per request basis to 300s.

Edited April 1, 2010 by zorm

[Guest Largoh]

That sucks. Bit of a stupid move imo and the only thing bothering me about the Hero.