Newb: Intro & "Any mileage in waiting for Voda ICS?"

[Guest BigEric]

Hi,

I've been lurking for a short while, just trying to get my head around things...

I'm back on the "Smartphone" wagon after being sworn off them for a long time, due to the utter uselessness of the Nokia E61. Having bought a g300 (I snagged one of the elusive "£60 at Tesco" ones...) I'm blown away with how good the phone/Android OS is! :-)

I'm a self-confessed Mac fanboi, that is I *was* until they got to be as customer-abusive as Microsoft once were. I'd switch to Linux in a heartbeat if I could run the apps I need. No way was I going to get an iPhone, hence the g300. I wanted to dip my toe in the Android world before starting to save up for a Galaxy Note ;-)

Anyway... I've only had the phone for ten days or so. I've rooted it already but keep shying away from installing one of the unofficial ICS roms, mainly because the options are bewildering and because most of the howto's are PC-centric and I have to find the Mac version, which is damaging what's left of my brain...

The official Voda ICS update *seems* to be imminent. What are the pro's and con's of waiting a few weeks for the OTA update vs taking the plunge and installing one of the roms floating about around here?

Look forward to your comments :-)

E

[Guest wrtease]

you could have a long wait or short wait .i would say voda will add all the crap on it when it released ,i would say if you want to get a clean rom then use whats on this forum .i didnt wait ,i have used all roms on here and cant be bothered installing the release when it appears.

[Guest BigEric]

you could have a long wait or short wait .i would say voda will add all the crap on it when it released ,i would say if you want to get a clean rom then use whats on this forum .i didnt wait ,i have used all roms on here and cant be bothered installing the release when it appears.

wrtease,

I understand what you're saying about the timescales... Can't I just remove the Voda stuff, given I have rooted the phone? An OTA update just seems a safe way to get the upgrade without the risk of bricking my phone.

If I do decide to go for it, I find the options in terms of roms bewildering. Is infusion the best alround one for now? A matter of taste I guess...

E

[Guest wrtease]

well their are alot of roms ,you choose .im a custom rom man .so have to say its upto you .

[Guest Dazzozo]

ICS has been "just around the corner" since the device started shipping.

[Guest BigEric]

ICS has been "just around the corner" since the device started shipping.

Dazzozo,

I didn't know that was the case... :-) Surely with other countries getting the update, the Uk's one can't be too far off...?

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[Guest wrtease]

along way off .as they might have to say next christmas

[Guest turnerfromdover]

Hey BigEric, I bought a g300 with the offer from tesco the other week and have been lurking exactly the same waiting for the BIG UPDATE.

I finally bit the bullet and installed the official ICS leaked version via sdcard method ..seems ok for what I need so far

[Guest BigEric]

Hey BigEric, I bought a g300 with the offer from tesco the other week and have been lurking exactly the same waiting for the BIG UPDATE.

I finally bit the bullet and installed the official ICS leaked version via sdcard method ..seems ok for what I need so far

turnerfromdover,

Thanks for that...

You mean this one?

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[Guest turnerfromdover]

turnerfromdover,

Thanks for that...

You mean this one? http://www.modaco.co...ta-release-rom/

E

yeah its the same version b936 .I havent rooted so I used the offical update via sd card as I dont have cwm installed as of yet .if you have cwm installed just follow those instructions mate .I don't know the score on updating via sdcard with root the official way maybe ask some of the guys here they have alot more knowledge than me ;) Edited October 3, 2012 by turnerfromdover

[Guest Magnets]

Yeh, they've been saying "soon" since April/May?

[Guest djidji84]

check this tutorial

http://www.modaco.com/topic/357243-explained-like-youre-5-install-custom-roms-from-scratch-install-the-official-ics-update-root-more/

there is section for MAC users also :)

[Guest Geoff2]

When I first got my G300, I updated it to one of the leaked ICS ROMs. However, mine was one of the phones which suffered from an intermittent dodgy mic, so others could barely hear me during calls. I tried everything in terms of changing ROMs and messing around with settings ('dualmic=false') but the mic quality was still dreadful. I therefore sent it back, but needed to cover my tracks so Vodafone wouldn't try and argue that I'd voided my warranty. I managed to put back a standard Huawei Gingerbread ROM, but found it was impossible to reinstall all the Vodafone bloatware. I made some story up about the phone wiping itself, and thankfully, Vodafone replaced my phone no questions asked.

I'm currently sticking with the standard Vodafone Gingerbread ROM with bloat, as it suits my needs and I know I'll be able to get the phone replaced under warranty without any hassle. All I've done is rooted it, which is easily reversible. My new phone also had poor mic quality, but this seems to have been sorted out by doing the 'dualmic=false' trick. I'll wait (years probably!) for the official |UK ICS update, and after I've been using that for a few months and I'm happy that everything is working properly, I'll possibly install a more exciting ROM.

[Guest BigEric]

check this tutorial

http://www.modaco.co...date-root-more/

there is section for MAC users also

djidji84,

I've been reading that and trying to digest it... :-) I'll contribute to the Mac section to make it even more 'for dummies'...

The other question is which rom to go for. Each one seems to have issues of some sort. I just need things to work :-) More reading to do! ;-)

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[Guest fr0do]

"just working" are all of the base Huawei roms. Tweaks and improvements and any inherent problems can be found in the custom roms.

[Guest BigEric]

"just working" are all of the base Huawei roms. Tweaks and improvements and any inherent problems can be found in the custom roms.

fr0do,

Would it make sense for a Newb like myself to start with the download on the Huawei site then...?

HUAWEI Ascend G300 firmware(U8815,Android 4.0，V100R001C00B934,General Version)

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[Guest KaterM]

Yep. definitely just works for me :-)

No bloat.

Less issues than the others ;-)

Using it since it came out and still fairly content.

Linux person here.

cheers

-> B934 general version

Edited October 4, 2012 by KaterM

[Guest BigEric]

Yep. definitely just works for me :-)

No bloat.

Less issues than the others ;-)

Using it since it came out and still fairly content.

Linux person here.

cheers

KaterM,

Excellent. That's one decision made :-)

I'll find some time to get ducks in a row and go for it over the weekend if Voda dont come across. Might just do it anyway come to think of it...

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[Guest BigEric]

Right... Update...

I decided to just go ahead and update.

The update from the official Huawei site failed and reading the 'ReadMe' file (after the fail of course...) says that my original build wasn't right for that update.

I then used the download from http://huaweig300.com/downloads/ics-b936-update which worked fine. From these instructions: http://huaweig300.com/install-the-official-ice-cream-sandwich-ics-update-on-the-huawei-g300/

I'm confused now though... My phone tells me I have Android 4.0.3, baseband 2030, build B936.

Is this the initial official ICS version which was pulled due to various problems or something else?

Elightenment sought please :-)

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[Guest Cyda]

Yeah, the b936 build was the version released for UK and then pulled. It has been released in other countries though. It does have a few small issues such as a spell check dictionary problem but that can be fixed by following a guide in the forums here (somewhere). Overall though the b936 is as good a build as any of the ICS releases for the G300. b934, b936 and b940 are all pretty usable, and a big improvement over gingerbread, IMO.

[Guest BigEric]

Yeah, the b936 build was the version released for UK and then pulled. It has been released in other countries though. It does have a few small issues such as a spell check dictionary problem but that can be fixed by following a guide in the forums here (somewhere). Overall though the b936 is as good a build as any of the ICS releases for the G300. b934, b936 and b940 are all pretty usable, and a big improvement over gingerbread, IMO.

Cyda,

Thanks. I saw that dictionary fix somewhere...

Will my phone update again when the official Voda update comes out?

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[Guest Cyda]

Will my phone update again when the official Voda update comes out?

E

Probably not. But it doesn't matter because now you are on baseband 2030 you can install CWM (if you haven't already) and just use CWM zip versions of any new releases, which is arguable a safer way to do things anyway.

[Guest BigEric]

Probably not. But it doesn't matter because now you are on baseband 2030 you can install CWM (if you haven't already) and just use CWM zip versions of any new releases, which is arguable a safer way to do things anyway.

Ok. Thanks :-)

E

[Guest synchropair]

Right... Update...

I decided to just go ahead and update.

The update from the official Huawei site failed and reading the 'ReadMe' file (after the fail of course...) says that my original build wasn't right for that update.

I then used the download from http://huaweig300.co...ics-b936-update which worked fine. From these instructions: http://huaweig300.co...he-huawei-g300/

I'm confused now though... My phone tells me I have Android 4.0.3, baseband 2030, build B936.

Is this the initial official ICS version which was pulled due to various problems or something else?

Elightenment sought please :-)

E

Hello BigEric

Like you i have been waiting for the UK ICS update.

When you updated above did you do it via the sd card way which seems the easiest way and will i need to root the phone first or just update. I have 2 of these phones for the boys birthdays this weekend and all i have done is the offical OTA, unlock the phones and put them on charge so i have nothing to back up at the moment.

I have checked the baseband and its 109808. Was this the same as yours to start with?

When i say sd card way, i have seen a video on youtube whereby he just copies the file onto the sd card without rooting or backing up the imei and then just updates.

One more thing has the vodaphone stuff gone, did google play appear in the apps and does all the wifi / 3g work ok?

Regards

Edited October 4, 2012 by synchropair

[Guest BigEric]

Hello BigEric

Like you i have been waiting for the UK ICS update.

When you updated above did you do it via the sd card way which seems the easiest way and will i need to root the phone first or just update. I have 2 of these phones for the boys birthdays this weekend and all i have done is the offical OTA, unlock the phones and put them on charge so i have nothing to back up at the moment.

I have checked the baseband and its 109808. Was this the same as yours to start with?

Regards

synchropair,

Not sure I should be giving any advice but... ;-)

I had already rooted the phone using the instructions here:

My baseband was also 109808.

The link above seems to be the place for us Newbs. Let me know if you are using a Mac as one or two of the steps could do with filling out very slightly if you're not familiar with the Terminal application.

HTH.

E