Ostriig on 7/5/2011 at 18:00
I'd been thinking about replacing my phone for some time now and I finally gave in and bought a pay-and-go Orange San Francisco (rebranded ZTE Blade, I take it). And now I need to reinstall the operating system to achieve two things: first, get rid of the Orange bloatware, it's redundant and apparently it's slowing it down, and second and more importantly, to unlock it for use on O2. I don't assume discussing any of this goes against forum rules, does it?
Problem is I'm completely new to this scene and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I've looked around for some tutorials, but they're not all entirely in tune one with the other, and I'm getting a bit confused. So could anyone give me some pointers on how to reinstall the OS?
And also on what versions of Android to choose from? I've read some stuff about Froyo (though I hear that can't run Flash on an ARM6 CPU, and I do want Flash), and Modaco and stuff. I assume these are distributions, like there are different ones of Linux, but I have no idea on how to assess what's good and what isn't.
So to sum up, I think there are the steps that I need to follow:
- pick an Android ROM to replace the current one;
- install some software on my PC to allow syncing;
- "root" the phone;
- back up the current installation to an archive (yeah, I'd really want to keep a backup of the factory install);
- copy the new ROM onto the device and flash it;
Am I right? And can anyone offer direction?
SubJeff on 7/5/2011 at 23:21
I don't understand 2 things - which phone you now have and why you'd want a copy your factory install.
The answer to your main question will be found on many Android forums though. I suggest xda developers.
Fafhrd on 7/5/2011 at 23:29
If all you want to do is get rid of the bloatware, you just need to(
http://wiki.modaco.com/index.php/ZTE_Blade#Rooting_the_phone) root the phone and install Titanium Backup to uninstall the apps you don't want. Looks like SIM unlocking on the Orange San Francisco is a bit more complicated and requires the IMEI for the phone, and isn't automatic with rooting and installing a custom rom.
What version of Android do you have stock? (Menu->Settings->About Phone)
Ostriig on 8/5/2011 at 01:01
I have
2.1-update1 listed under firmware version. I definitely do need to unlock it as I have no intention to switch off of O2. A friend of mine suggested that simply flashing the OS would do the trick. I have found a (
http://www.chrislowthian.co.uk/how-to-unlock-de-brand-and-root-the-zte-blade-orange-san-francisco/1824/) site talking about unlocking with the IMEI, but it said to go to another site and input the number there to receive an unlock code and I thought the link - (
http://arrtoo.x10.mx/unlockBlade.php) - had a dodgy ring to it and I thought I'd give it a skip for the time being.
Is there any risk associated with possibly giving your phone's IMEI to the wrong people? Upon looking over the first site again there do seem to be loads of comments indicating it to be legit (albeit while complaining about problems with the overall debranding process). Provided I don't risk anything by inputting the IMEI at the above link, however, just unlocking it should be easy, apparently all I need to do is type in the returned code when booting the phone with a different SIM in.
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I don't understand 2 things - which phone you now have and why you'd want a copy your factory install.
The Orange San Francisco. As for backing up the original install, just being cautious really. I'm treading on new ground and I'd rather play it safe, figure who knows when I need to restore it to factory settings.
Quote:
The answer to your main question will be found on many Android forums though. I suggest xda developers.
Cheers dude, will give them a look tomorrow.
Ostriig on 8/5/2011 at 16:13
Ok, I ended up using one of those online calculators, turns out the dodgy looking link actually belonged to a prolific, trusted poster on Modaco. He even had it in an app form, but I didn't have the time and patience to sort out the installation so I just used the web one. So I can use it on O2 now, and as for removing the bloat I'll see to that later this week, I have so much shit to do right now it's not even funny.
Fafhrd on 9/5/2011 at 02:27
Quote Posted by Ostriig
A friend of mine suggested that simply flashing the OS would do the trick.
It's usually flashing of the bootloader that unlock's the SIM, not the OS, and for most phones replacing the bootloader is required in order to install custom ROMs, since the stock bootloader won't let you install anything without the proper signature. But it still varies by manufacturer (all Android powered Motorola phones only have locked bootloaders, afaik, which has led to a lot of complaining by the open source community), and the ZTE Blade requires the IMEI unlock.
Ostriig on 10/5/2011 at 19:41
Thanks for the clarification. Well, I have the SIM unlocked and it's working on O2, I'm expecting my data allowance bolt-on to come into effect tomorrow. But I definitely need to dump this Orange version of the OS that's on it. It's got some very poor interface design choices, it's slow, and on top of that it's also buggy, having trouble parsing the entries in the contacts list I imported from the SIM, and it's also managed to bork message text field once meaning it wouldn't work in landscape mode anymore until I restarted the phone.
