Android Glossary / How To Articles

Android Glossary / How To Articles

Android Glossary

Android OS - Like Windows Mobile but based on Linux, using a Java based front end.

Linux - Open Source operating system used instead of Windows XP/Vista, Mac OSX etc... it's free (as in beer).

Open Source (From Wiki) – Free and open source software, also F/OSS, FOSS, or FLOSS (free/libre/open source software) is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code.

Root (as in access)- root is like the administrator account on a windows machine (also referred to as su, or superuser). It allows you to have complete access to the underlying OS of a linux or nix based machine. For the G1, it allows for the use of themes, native backup functionality, manually selecting which apps can utilize root access, auto-rotate screen, multi-touch in browser, moving applications/caches to the sd card etc...

Root (as in location)- the 'root' of a folder or drive is the top most area of that location. In windows, C:\ is the 'root' of your hard drive. The 'root' of your SD card just means you haven't moved into any subfolders.

Shell – (also heard as terminal, bash, command line) This is a loose definition, but it’s basically a command line to run specific actions against the OS.

Bootloader – the SPL and IPL of a flash based device. See description On SPL for dream.

SPL (Secondary Program Loader) - You get to the SPL by holding the 'camera' button while powering on your phone. This is where you flash NBH images. See bootloader above.

Recovery Mode - Holding the 'Home' key while while powering on the G1 will take you into Recovery Mode. From here you can perform a NANDroid backup, wipe your phone, access a command line and of course, flash your phone with an update.zip file.

RC## (or release candidate) – In context to the G1, it is an official release of Android from T-Mobile meant specifically for the G1 (not ADP).

ADP (Android Developer Phone) – A Google specific (or carrier non-specific) version of the G1/Dream that has root access by default and is meant for developers writing apps for the G1, or Android in general.

ADP vs. RC## - Neither RC’s or ADP versions are tied to their respective hardware. With the right bootloader, you can flash an ADP image to a G1 or an RC image to an ADP.

JFV1.## - Is a specific Version of a JesusFreke ROM. JesusFreke is a developer on the xda-developers website that has graciously spent his time to modify the G1 OS to allow us to have root access to our phones. This gives us the ability to explore and modify our phones via a command line.

Cupcake – a development branch of the Android OS that contains many improvements that was merged into the master build of Android and is currently being released to new phones as Android 1.5.

Nandroid – a utility, accessible through Recovery Mode, that allows you to backup your phone and restore to the exact condition at backup.

Apps2SD – Applications moved to your SD card instead of internal memory. Some people like the extra room, some people don’t want to hassle with the partitioning.

Partition – just like the partitions that separate cubicles in an office, a partition separates parts of a drive.

File system – there are many. It’s basically a specific way of organizing data on a partition. FAT(32) is generally windows, ext2 is generally linux. This is not a hard and fast rule, just most common in context with what you’ll see here.

Scripts – scripts are text files that contain a list of commands to perform. Instead of typing each command out multiple times, a script can be run that will initiate all steps listed in the script.

Android SDK (System Developer’s Kit) – This includes all tools (sans fastboot) that a developer needs to create applications for the G1. It also has tools for interacting with the phone via a command line (ADB).

ADB - is a part of the SDK that allows you to run commands against the G1 in lieu of using the terminal on the phone itself.

Fastboot - is a tool used to flash system images (.img files) to the G1 from a command line on your pc. IMG files are created when you do NANDroid backups and official images can be downloaded from HTC as well. To get to fastboot mode on your phone, hold the back button while powering on.

CFU - Call Forwarding Unconditional

A--Install / Update SPL (For Dream)

How To: SPLs for Dream.


#1. About SPLs

This page contains information about SPLs for the HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1 and ADP1). What is a SPL? The SPL, or Second Program Loader, in conjunction with the IPL comprise a device's bootloader. Aside from bootstrapping Android, the bootloader also fulfills various diagnostic functions. One of these functions is the manipulation of data in the device's internal flash ram. Depending on the SPL installed, the user can apply a signed NBH file, flash nand images, and more. Note that the SPL is installed and operates independently of the Android build that runs atop it.

Currently there are three SPLs available. The G1 variant is the SPL that is installed in stock T-Mobile G1 phones. The Engineering variant is found in the Android Dev Phone 1. Finally, the HardSPL is a modification of the Engineering variant by cmonex, with additional hacker-friendly functionality. HardSPL is the recommended SPL.

#2. Installation

The SPLs are packaged in the familiar update.zip format and install from the recovery console in the same fashion as other update files:


1. If you are installing onto a G1, your G1 must have a modified recovery partition. If you have one of JesusFreke's Android builds installed, then you have a modified recovery partition
2. Download the desired SPL zip file (SPL Downloads), rename it to update.zip and copy it to the root of your sdcard. As usual, remember to use a USB cable with a ferrite core and dismount your USB drive before disconnecting.
3. Reboot the phone into recovery console and flash the update with ALT+S.
4. To confirm it has installed properly, power on the G1 with END + Camera to enter the bootloader. When you are done, press CALL + MENU + END to leave the bootloader.
5. To revert a G1 to its factory original SPL, simply use the G1 Original SPL.


#3. HardSPL (recommended)

VER: HSPL10.95.3000
ZIP: splhard1_update_signed.zip
MD5: 6502af25b9e9fbe1322cc405559af1ca
SHA1: 59485b21f69acb6e9f70a4cd5ff4aefea722fc50

HardSPL is a modification of the Engineering SPL by cmonex. In addition to the functionality of the Engineering SPL, HardSPL also allows NBH files to be used without matching the CID (carrier ID) check. At the current time the main benefit of this is to allow European G1s flash American NBH files and vice versa. All other features and attributes of the Engineering SPL (such as the ability to flash the mtds from nand backup images) are present. Using the Nandroid backup scripts to create nand backups for this purpose is recommended.


#4. Engineering SPL

VER: HBOOT-0.95.3000
ZIP: EngBootloader_v2_NoSigCheck.zip
MD5: 8008e01cb2c35e06b704e4dfb624ce4e
SHA1: d94f087b9eed8f59bc90d84c290ce475dbee07f9

The Engineering SPL is a custom SPL installed in devices intended for Android development. It has existed since before the launch of the G1 and is now available to the general public as preinstalled on the Android Dev Phone 1, the official development device sold by Brightstar Corp. This SPL, in addition to flashing signed NBH files, can also flash nand dumps through the use of the fastboot protocol (as defined in the legacy bootloader documentation). This is a convenient way to flash the mtd partitions and can be greatly useful in the event that an undesirable build of Android is advertently or inadvertently installed.
This SPL was first originally dumped from a G1 which dream_kill received as a replacement from T-Mobile by cmonex and JesusFreke.


#5. G1 Original SPL

VER: HBOOT-0.95.0000
ZIP: G1OrigBootloader_nocheck.zip
MD5: ae58b427b797707c453f3b3fa9d13c76
SHA1: aac5b75c348ee33c29aa24612d23a5e626a8c075

This is the original SPL which is installed in a stock G1. It is easily distinguished by the "trademark" red-green-blue bootloader screen which appears in many HTC phones. This SPL does not support the fastboot protocol and thus will not allow the user to flash nand backup images.
Before the leak of the TC4-RC29 and TC5-RC7 signed NBH images, users running stock RC30 and RC8 were unable to downgrade and install modified Android builds. xda-dev user chavonbravo leaked the aforementioned files, which allowed users to downgrade G1s through the original SPL. This SPL was dumped by damien667.


B--How To: Prepare your Phone to get Root

Android Root - All Questions answered here By Dear Subrata


C--How To: Install the Hard SPL

Installation of the Hard SPL

This will allow you to apply flash images from other regions (like UK on US phones, and vice versa), create full backups of your phone, install the latest build from the Android source, and usually resurrect your phone if it is "bricked".

Location of the Hard SPL: splhard1_update_signed.zip



1. Power off your phone.
2. Press and hold Home and then press Power to boot up into recovery mode.
3. You will now enter recovery mode. You should see an exclamation.
4. If you do not see a menu / text on screen, press ALT+L to show the menu.
5. Press ALT+S to apply the update from the SD card.
6. After the update is complete, hold Home + Back to restart.

- You've now applied the Hard SPL to your phone -


D--How To: Install the Latest Custom ROM

Installing the Latest Custom ROM

Next we will install the latest JF Version.
1 Download the build.
2 Rename it to "update.zip".
3 Copy it to the root of your phone's SD card.
4 Turn your phone off.
5 Start up in recovery mode by holding Home and pressing Power.
6 Press ALT+W to wipe your device. (You need to do this, or the device may hang at the flashing Android screen)
7 Press ALT+S to apply the update.

Custom ROM's

1. JF's RC33 v1.42
Notes : USA T-Mobile Release Candidate, Root, Multi-Touch & Busybox
2. JF's ADP 1.1 v1.43 (Holiday)
Notes : Android Dev Phone 1 Holiday Release, Root, Multi-Touch & Busybox
3. JF's RC9 v1.43
Notes : Root, Busybox, Fancy Animations
4. haykuro's v5.0.2 Google (Cupcake) A2SD
Notes : Root, Busybox, Fancy Animations, Apps 2 SD
5. haykuro's v5.0.2 r5 HTC (Cupcake)
Notes : Busybox, Prettiest Build, HTC VK
6. haykuro's v5.0.2 r5 HTC (Cupcake) A2SD
Notes : Busybox, Prettiest Build, HTC VK, Apps 2 SD
7. haykuro's ADP 1.5 r3 (Cupcake)
Notes : Root, Busybox, Multi-Touch
8. haykuro's ADP 1.5 r3 (Cupcake) A2SD
Notes: Root, Busybox, Multi-Touch, Apps 2 SD
9. TheDudes v1.1 Lite (Cupcake)
Notes : Root, Busybox, AOSP + ADP1.5, No 3rd Party or Dev Apps
10. TheDudes v1.1 Full (Cupcake)
Notes : Root, Busybox, AOSP + ADP1.5, 3rd Party & Dev Apps, Manup Blue Theme
11. JF v1.51 CRB43 ADP (Cupcake) A2SD
Notes : Root, Busybox, ADP1.5, Apps 2 SD
12. JF v1.51 CRB43 US (Cupcake) A2SD
Notes : Root, Busybox, USA T-Mobile Release 1.5, Apps 2 SD
13. haykuro's 6.0HTC r1 A2SD
Notes : Root, Busybox, ADP 1.5, Apps 2 SD, Requires Radio 2.22.19.26I & SPL 1.33.2005


E--How To: Install a Radio Update.

Installing the Radio Update

Next you will want to confirm your Radio Baseband.
To Confirm this Press Menu - Settings - About Phone - Scroll down till you see Baseband version.
Compare the Baseband value to the table below to see if you are using the correct radio for your build or if you need to update.
To update the Radio:
1 Download the Radio zip.
2 Rename it to "update.zip".
3 Copy it to the root of your phone's SD card.
4 Turn your phone off.
5 Start up in recovery mode by holding Home and pressing Power.
6 Press ALT+S to apply the update.
7 Once the update is applied press Home+Back to reboot the phone. The Phone will start to boot up and then continue applying the update. Once this is completed the Recovery menu will ask you for the second time to reboot the phone via Home + Back

Once this is done double check the Baseband has been updated properly via:
Press Menu - Settings - About Phone - Scroll down till you see Baseband version, you should see the radio version on this row if not you will need to update the Radio again.
To Confirm which Radio you should be using check the table below:

1.22.14.11
JF's RC33 v1.42
JF's RC9 v1.43

1.22.14.1
JF's ADP 1.1 v1.43 (Holiday)

2.22.19.23
haykuro's v5.0.2 Google (Cupcake)
haykuro's v5.0.2 Google (Cupcake) A2SD
haykuro's v5.0.2 r5 HTC (Cupcake)
haykuro's v5.0.2 r5 HTC (Cupcake) A2SD

2.22.19.26I
haykuro's ADP 1.5 r3 (Cupcake)
haykuro's ADP 1.5 r3 (Cupcake) A2SD
TheDudes v0.92 (Cupcake)
TheDudes v0.92 (Cupcake) A2SD
TheDudes v0.93 (Cupcake)
TheDudes v0.93 (Cupcake) A2SD
TheDudes v1.1 Lite (Cupcake) A2SD
TheDudes v1.1 Full (Cupcake) A2SD
JF v1.50 ADP (Cupcake) A2SD
JF v1.51 CRB43 ADP (Cupcake) A2SD
JF v1.51 CRB43 US (Cupcake) A2SD
haykuro's 6.0HTC r1 A2SD

F--How To: Perform a NANDROID Backup.
Performing a NANDROID Backup

At this point you should backup your phone via NANDROID
1 Turn your phone off.
2 Hold Home, press Power button to boot into Recovery Mode
3 Press ALT+B to start the backup.
4 Once the backup has completed press Home + Back

Next your phone will reboot and load the OS, at this point you should copy the files your just backed up to your PC incase you need to recover your phone
1 Mount your SDCard to your PC
2 On your SDCard change to the nandroid/HT840GZ30985
3 Inside this folder you will see another folder the first 8 digits of this folder name is the date it was created in the YYYYMMDD format and the last four are the time.
4 Copy this entire folder to your PC and save it. As you make more backups to your phone repeat this process.

NOTE:I tend to append the build the backup is of i.e. 20090429-0421_ADP_Hv15_r2 So I know this build is the ADP build by haykuro version 2.


G--NANDROID_Fastboot (Restoring phone via backup).

Restore Phone Via NANDROID Backup & Fastboot -

So now you've just backed up your phone or bricked it and want to know how in the hell do I recover my phone with these backups I'm creating...

Things you will need:

Android SDK: Download the Android SDK | Android Developers
Fastboot Windows Binary: fastboot-win32.zip
Android USB Drivers: android_usb_windows.zip

Installing the SDK (Installing the SDK | Android Developers) Download the Android SDK (link above) extract the files to a location on your PC i.e. C:\sdk Next On Windows, right-click on My Computer, & select Properties. Under the Advanced tab, hit the Environment Variables button, & in the dialog that comes up, double-click on Path (under System Variables). Add the full path to the tools/ directory to the path.
So using the example from above the path you would be adding is c:\sdk\tools
- Note that, if you update your SDK in the future, you should remember to update your PATH settings to point to the new location, if different. -

-Once the SDK is extracted & the Environment Variables updated
-Download the Fastboot Windows Binary & extract it in the same folder as adb. So using the same example you will place the files in the c:\sdk\tools
-Reboot your phone
-Turn your phone on & hold both Camera + Power
-You should now see a white screen with three androids on skateboards (If you do not see this STOP, repeat the Hard SPL Installation above)
-Take out the usb cable & connect it to your phone, now press the back key on the phone.
-In the middle of the screen your phone should now say FASTBOOT, if it says SERIAL keep pressing back on the phone till you see FASTBOOT
-If it asks you to install drivers, then use the usb drivers above.

-If it doesn't ask you to install a driver, you need to figure out if the correct driver is loaded already.
-Right click on My Computer, & click Manage, then go to the device manager
-If you see an "ADB Interface" category at/near the top, with "HTC Dream" under it, then you're good to go. Fastboot should be working for you.
-If you don't see an "ADB Interface" category, then it's likely that windows loaded the USB Mass Storage driver for it automatically.
-In the device manager, go down to "Universal Serial Bus Controllers", & see if you have at least one "USB Mass Storage device". If you have multiple ones, you'll need to go through each to find the correct one.
-To find the correct one, right click on the USB Mass Storage device & click Properties. -Go to the Details tab.
-In the combo box at the top that says "Device Instance Id", bring up the pull down & choose "Compatible Ids".
-If that is the correct device, then you will see 3 entries:

USB\Class_ff&SubClass_42&Prot_03
USB\Class_ff&SubClass_42
USB\Class_ff
Once you find the correct device, go to the driver tab, & click "Update Driver". Choose "No, not this time", then "Install from a list or specific location", then "Don't search, I will choose the driver to install", & then choose the same usb driver that you used to get adb to work.
-Once you have completed this Open a Cmd Prompt (Windows Key + R, then cmd)
-fastboot devices
It should list a device in the list, if it does you are fine to flash images to your phone if not please repeat the process above. You may have to delete the android phone under the device manager.

From the NANDROID Backup you will only need to flash three files:

-data.img
-system.img
-boot.img


Copy the above three files to the directory on your Cmd Prompt or change directories through the Cmd Prompt to the location of the nandroid files either way will work.

Once the files are in the same directory that Cmd Prompt is accessing then type each cmd below followed by enter. The cmd will send & then flash the image.

fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash userdata data.img
fastboot reboot


Your phone will reboot into the OS & your back to the image you just flashed!

H--How To: Remove Root / Stock G1.

Unroot your Phone / Place Phone Back to Stock

1 Download the DREAIMG.nbh: DREAIMG-RC29.zip
2 Place "DREAIMG.nbh" on the root of your SD card.
3 Turn your phone off.
4 Start up in bootloader mode by holding Camera + Power.
5 Hit power button to start the update.
6 Once the install completes hit action(trackball down) and your phone will reboot.

- You now have the stock RC29 firmware, now it will update on it's own in a bit -

I--How To: Recover your G1 from a bring Bricked.

Un-Brick Your Phone

(Method 1)
Ok so you're trying to put this really cool new custom ROM on your phone and then suddenly, your phone won't start up…well my friends, you have got yourself a bricked phone. The thing you worry about the entire time you're rooting, and flashing your phone, has now become reality. Well, fear no more, for I, CTDroidBeast have found a way to unbrick your device!

It's really easy. It's actually easier then rooting your phone, believe it or not.

Ok, you will need a new SD card, because I bet if you use the one out of your device your computer will not be able to read it. But if it does then HEY, you're in luck. You don't have to spend your money on a new SD card.

So let's get started.



Step 1: Turning Off Your Phone


Because you have a bricked phone, you can't just hold the power button. So if your phone is not already off then you're going to want to take out the battery.
Step 2: Preparing Our SD card


Take out your SD card and put it into an SD card reader or some type of other adapter so that we can view it from our computer. If you cannot view the SD card on your computer then you're going to need a new SD card.
Download DREAIMG-RC29.zip and unzip the file.
Reformat the SD card to FAT32 and copy the DREAIMG.nbh onto it.
Safely eject the SD card.
Put the SD card into your device.
Step 3: Wipe The Phone


Hold home and press the power button.
When you see the image of an ! mark, open your keyboard and press Alt + L if you cannot see any command options.
Do a factory reset by pressing Alt + W or just using the trackball.
When the reset is done, go ahead and hold the camera button and select the reboot system now option with your trackball.
Step 4: Flashing The Phone


Once the grey screen pops up (or the white screen if your phone was rooted with JesusFreke) it will ask you to hit a button to start installing the image…press that button. DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO STOP THIS PROCCESS. It will take about 8-12 minutes.
When the image has completed the installation (it will say completed), go ahead and press the green, red, and menu buttons at the same time. The phone will reboot.


And your done! Your phone is now unbricked!.


The G1 screen will hang there for a good minute or two, but be paticiant, it will boot. Now you have a choice. Try to hack your phone again, because you're in the correct state to have another go, or, you can stick with the official Android. Now if you choose to stick with the official Android, here's what you do.


Step 1: Upgrading to Android 1.0 RC33


Download the file signed-PLAT-RC33-from-RC30.zip
Rename the file to update.zip and copy it to your SD card
Reboot your phone into recovery mode. Power off the phone first and then hold down the Home key while powering it back on.
The recovery mode is finished loading when you see the ! mark inside the triangle. Press Alt + L to display the list of options.
Press Alt + S to flash the file update.zip.
Wait for the update to apply. Your phone may reboot during this process so be patient.
Press Home + Back if prompted to reboot your phone.
Step 2: Upgrading to Android 1.5 CRB43


Download the file signed-kila-ota-148830.de6a94ca.zip
Repeat the steps from above to flash the update file.
Step 3: Upgrade to Android 1.5 CRC1


Download the file signed-kila-CRC1-from-CRB43-FIX.7ca4a1d7.zip
Repeat the steps from above to flash the update file.
Step 4: Upgrade to Android 1.6 DRC83


Download the file signed-kila-DRC83-from-CRC1.c41b93c1.zip
Repeat the steps from above to flash the update file.

J--How To Manually Apply The Official T-Mobile 1.6 (Donut) Upgrade

Upgrading to Android 1.6 DRC83


Download the file signed-kila-DRC83-from-CRC1.c41b93c1.zip
Follow procedure E--
Media Fire Android Drive
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Thanks For Being With

GSM-NARAYANGANJ