JaggyRom 3 for HTC Explorer (Pico)- Makeover For Htc Explorer

JaggyROM 3 for HTC Explorer- Giving a nice makeover to your Explorer

Hey folks, JaggyRom 3 is out for your HTC Explorer. This newer update looks very cool (turns majority of your phone icons to blue, bluish glow in scrolling plus Ice Cream Sandwich (android 4) icons in setting menu).

I just tried it on my HTC Explorer and it turned supercool. Apart from this color transition, this newer update for Explorer has some new features for better user experience, like Auto-brightness, Auto-rotation, Wi-Fi, GPS, Auto-sync and Power Efficiency links have been added to the quick setting menu.

Adrenaline engine for better RAM usage and faster processing and sd-card read/write speeds has been integrated into the newer update.

Also users can flash Bravia engine and X-loud engine onto the ROM. Bravia engine is for better graphics quality and X-loud is for music. Seriously speaking, I couldn't make out a difference with Bravia engine but yes X-loud factor has done a good job with my audio.

Below is detailed list of features included in new update of JaggyROM for HTC Explorer:

• Rooted
• Kernel by yannou90.
• Ext-2,3,4 partition support.
• task killer tweak for speed
• Apps2sd enabled (no need of link2sd anymore, don't use it).
• BusyBox installed
• Booting HTC Sound dissabled
• Bash shell support
• /etc/init.d scripts support
• Dalvic-cache to SD enabled
• Deodexed
• Zipaligned to optimize Ram usage at every boot.
• +135mb free internal memory at startup.
• "ES file explorer", "Easyinstaller" and "A2SDGUI" preinstalled.
• Dissabled scrolling cache.
• Blue theme with scrolling glow.
• CRT on/off animation. (thanks to pchandra)
• Advanced quick settings.
• Swipe to remove notifications.
• Fixed CRT issue (sometimes rebooting after a call)
• Added advanced quick settings
• Added Adrenaline engine: 
  
  ✔ Increase touchscreen sensitivity
  ✔ Less RAM usage through zipalign. | World first smart zip-aligning
  ✔ Reduced /dbdata, /data, /sdcard usage of *.db files and faster database access. | World first smart sqlite optimizing
  ✔ Faster disk access through remount script (noatime, disabled barrier etc) | World first smart remounting
  ✔ Better network throughput from TCP tweaks and 3G tweaks
  ✔ Tons of prop tweaks
  ✔ Overall Better Performance and Battery Life
  ✔ Less lags through LMK Tweak and Various VM Tweaks
  ✔ Faster SDCARD Read/Write Speed
  ✔ Bypass website like thepiratebay.se
  
  
• Added Bravia and Xloud engline.
  
  Bravia engine: Improve screen quality of the display (You'll see improvements when you view a photo, watch movies, play games
  
  X-loud engine: will make the volume more louder, sound quality is crispier and very clear than stock, and bass issues from stock will be fixed
  
  
• Blue Theme (system, dialer, keyboard, etc...)

Download:

Download JaggyROM 3

(lite version does not contain bloatware and extra HTC apps. These are present in full version)

Download Bravia and X-loud engine

Method to install the update of JaggyROM:

Installing the update is pretty simple. Once you have finished the download, tranfer the file from your PC to your sd-card. Also, no data/app loss will occur if you back up the apps and app data with titanium backup. (Simply restore them back after updating)

-Rename it to update.zip

-Hold the power button. From the 'Restart' tab select 'Recovery'.

-Once your are in Recovery mode, go to 'Advanced' >> Wipe Dalvik cache >> Select 'yes'

(I hope you remember that you have to use volume keys to go up/down and power button to select an option.)

-Once it is done, select 'Go Back'.

-Now, select 'Apply update from sdcard' >> Yes- Install /sdcard/update.zip

-Once done, reboot your HTC Explorer by selecting 'Reboot system now'.

-Enjoy :-)

Installing Bravia and X-loud engine:

Transfer the file to your sd-card. The process is same as above but this time DO NOT WIPE DALVIK CACHE. Just select 'Install zip from sdcard' >> choose zip from sdcard >> navigate to the file and select 'yes'.

Hopefully, you would like the newer update.

Please feel free to comment/suggest/feedback on the post.

Did I Brick My Phone? What To Do Now

What To Do If Your Android Phone Gets Bricked

This tutorial has been developed keeping in mind the worst case scenario of android rooting process. There are many tutorials on web teaching you to root your android device but what happens if you accidently (and in rarest possibility) brick your phone. Let's see what can be done in such a condition.


For those new to these terms, learn more here


What Is Bricking?


First of all, I woiuld like to make it clear what bricking actually means. If you CAN NOT turn on your phone in any manner whatsoever, it is BRICKED. As the term suggests, your phone is now as useful as a brick. But, if your are able to turn it on and it is getting stuck in some process (bootloop for example), it is not bricked. See what you can do if any problem is keeping your phone from booting perfectly.


Note: Always make a backup of your stock ROM before flashing a new ROM, so that you can revert the changes you made in case some trouble arises.


Booting Directly into Recovery Mode:


Sometimes, after flashing a new ROM, your phone may reboot directly into recovery mode. Don't panic, this issue can be handled. First of all, reboot again to check if it is really a problem because some custom ROMs have inbuilt configuration to make the first reboot into recovery mode. Your phone might also boot directly into bootloader. If so, check if you can choose 'Recovery' from the menu that appears before proceeding.


If the problem continues, you will have to flash your ROM again. You may try again with the same ROM or a different one.


Rebooting Endlessly (Bootloop):


This issue generally arises when you have not wiped out your data/cache prior to flashing a new ROM. The android device in such condition is trying to boot but the previous data is confusing it and causing a reboot. This situation is called 'BootLoop'. Now, to solve this you must wipe out all your previous data/cache. do this-


-Turn off your device. Boot it into 'recovery' mode. You know you are in recovery mode when the device displays ClockWorkMod Recovery on top (in case you are using CWM recovery).


-Go to 'advanced' and choose 'Wipe Dalvik cache', then select 'Wipe cache partition' from the main screen. Finally select 'Wipe Dara/Factory Reset'.


-Reboot your phone now. Hopefully, the problem is solved.

Booting Directly Into Bootloader:

In case your android is booting directly into the bootloader, flashing the stock ROM is the best possible solution. Stock ROM is the one which your manufacturer installed on your android. Finding the stock ROM is different for different manufacturers. Here, I must remind you that flashing stock ROM will revert all the changes you made to your phone but at least this will make your phone usable once again.

-For HTC phones, stock ROM comes by name of RUU (ROM Upgrade Utility).  You will have to flash it from the bootloader mode. Firstly search for the RUU suitable for your HTC phone on google and download it. You may also try http://www.shipped-roms.com/index.php/ for finding the stock ROM of your phone. You will need to know the codename of your phone, google it. (Codename foe HTC Explorer is HTC Pico). Save the downloaded RUU to your SD card as a zip file and rename it as per the name suggested by RUU download page. Now boot the HTC phone and it will automatically flash the stock ROM from HBOOT.

-For Motorola Phones you will need RSD Lite. It is a windows program you will need to restore the original ROM on your phone. Google this name to find a versoion applicable to your device. Also google the SBF file version suitable for your android device (it is the stock ROM for Motorola phones)

-For Samsung Phones you will need a program called Odin and OPS file version for your phone. Odin will flash the original ROM on your Samsung android device and OPS file is the stock ROM for samsung phones. Google both these with your phone model, download them, run on your windows PC and hopefully you will be able to restore your device back to normal.

Other Errors:

For other errors, I suggest you use google or www.xda-developers.com for finding the solution.

Bricked Absolutely:

In case, you are unable to even turn on your phone i.e. it is officially BRICKED, you may take it to the store/workshop and just pretend to be innocent. DO NOT tell them that you were experimenting with it. Just say that it turned off abruptly and won't start again, no matter how hard you tried. I believe after some technical tryouts, you will get a replacement. I know it is morally wrong, but this is the best I can suggest.

Kindly leave your comments/suggestions/feedback

Rooting Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android 2.1 Eclair

Tutorial 5 : Rooting Your Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 

Hey folks, it as now all easy to root your Sony Ericsson xperia x8 android device with one click. Yes, you read it correctly, with one click. The android 2.1 can be rooted easily with SuperOneClick rooting application. It can be rooted the hard way too, but that may prove more risky.


For understanding the terminology used in this blogs' tutorials, read here

Here's how to do it:


- Enable USB debugging on your Xperia X8 prior to doing anything. Go to Setting >> Applications >> Development >> Turn on USB debugging. Turn on 'Stay Awake' too just in case. See the image below.

-Download "SuperOneClick" software from here.


-Connect  your Xperia X8 android phone to PC and select "Charge Phone". Keep in mind, this is important, DO NOT select USB mass storage from the menu. Select charge phone only.


-Once this is done. open "SuperOneClick.exe" on your PC and click "Root".

-Wait for a few minutes.

-It will show a dialog box saying that you device is now rooted.

-Disconnect your Xperia X8 phone from the PC now.

-Reboot your Xperia X8.

Congratulations, you have successfully rooted your Sony Ericsson Xperia X8.




Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog

Wifi Tethering On Android 2.1 Eclair Devices (Xperia X8)

Tutorial 6: WiFi Tether on Android 2.1 Eclair Devices (Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, HTC Dream, HTC Aria) Possible

Hello, now it is possible to get wireless tethering on your Android device running on android version 2.1 Eclair (HTC aria, HTC dream, Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, X10). You do not need to upgrade to android 2.2 Froyo or install a custom ROM either. It is very easy to convert your phone into a wifi-hotspot with following tweaks.


For understanding the terminology used in this blogs' tutorials, read here


Note: Please keep in mind that this will work only on rooted phones. As I was working on Xperia X8, for the information on how to root Xperia X8, click here.


Steps:


-Download a bin file called  "fw_bcm4329_ap.bin" from here. This is a link to my own site where I have uploaded this file.


In case you cannot download this file from my site, download HTC Evo 4G system dump file from here. Then extract the dump file (named as system.rar) into any directory and find fw_bcm4329_ap.bin from it. This file will be found in .../system/etc/firmware/fw_bcm4329_ap.bin 


-Connect your phone to your PC via USB cable and mount your sd card. 


-Create a directory(folder) named as android.tether in your SD card.


-Open this directory and paste fw_bcm4329_ap.bin into it.


-Rename this file to fw_bcm4329.bin


-Remove any old versions of "wireless tether" from your phone.

-Install the latest "wireless_tether_2_0_2-pre14.apk " release in your phone. Download it from here.


-Now reboot your Xperia X8. You can now start a wifi-hotspot on your device by using the newly installed wifi tethering app.

Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog

Using Titanium Backup on Android Devices

Tutorial 4: Using Titanium Backup

Hello, this is a tutorial to use this wonderful app called Titanium Backup. It requires root permission, so prior to using this app, your phone must be rooted and superuser.zip should also be installed.


For understanding the terminology used in this blogs' tutorials, read here


Functions:


-Create backup/restore of all your data- your apps, app data, system data.


-Move the apps and app data to your sd card partition and back to internal memory. Just like "app2sd" but with greater powers, it can move almost all apps to sd card partition.


-Uninstall/freeze custom apps that came pre-installed with your phone.


How to use it:


-Download this app from android market.


-Install to your phone.


Note: The phone must be rooted with busybox app and superuser.zip already installed on it. This app requires root permissions and won't work without rooting.


-Open the app. Approve the superuser permission when asked for.

-The main screen will look like this.

-Now you can carry on all the functions.


-To view each app and work on it one at a time, click on backup/restore tab. Long press over an app to open a menu. Select ' Move to SD card' to move the app to Sd card partition. Select 'Move app data to SD' to move the app data too.

-To work on many apps at same time, press settings button on your phone. Select "Batch" from the menu that appears. Now you can handle many apps at same time. Just click 'Run' against the feature you want to activate.

Note: Pay close attention while deleting system installed apps. Don't uninstall/freeze any app if you are not sure what it does. And specially don't touch apps starting with 'com.something' in their name.


Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog

Custom ROM for HTC Explorer JaggyROM

Tutorial 3 Exploring HTC Explorer :Applying a Custom ROM (JaggyROM) to Your HTC Explorer (Pico) And Increasing Internal Memory of your HTC Explorer

I hope that by now you have rooted your HTC explorer. If not, then read here.


To understand the terms used in the article, read here.


Rooting gives you complete access to your phone. Now you can add a new custom ROM to your HTC Explorer (Pico), tweak your CPU, increase your phone's internal memory, uninstall bloatware (unnecessary apps installed by manufacturer) and do many more things.


Well, there are many custom ROMs out there, the most popular being the CyanogenMod (CM). But the latest version of CM doesn't officially support HTC Explorer as of yet, so I didn't try that one. I tried another popular custom ROM named JaggyROM (developed by jaggyjags and kernel by sakindia123) and it works perfectly well.


Here I'll also explain how to increase the internal memory of your HTC Explorer.  This will enable you to install plenty of apps in future without your phone showing 'low internal memory' notification.


Let's see how to install/flash JaggyROM in your HTC Explorer.


Pre-requisites : You will need following


-SD card reader. Yup, DO NOT use your phone to mount your SD Card and perform the process of making partition on it.
-download MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition
-download JaggyROM version 2.7.zip
-please see to it that you SD card is inserted in your phone and is accessible by phone.

Step 1: Create Backup Of Existing ROM

1. First of all we need to backup your existing ROM.
2. After rooting your phone, reboot into Recovery menu (remove-insert your battery, hold volume down+power buttons simultaneously and select recovery from the menu that appears)
3. Select "Backup and Restore" from the menu
4. Now select "Backup"
5. Once this is done, select the "Reboot System" option.
6. This time the phone boots normally.
7. Now connect your phone to your computer via a USB data cable and copy the folder "clockworkmod" from the SD card to somewhere on your PC for backup. This folder contains the backup of your existing ROM (the one installed by HTC).


Step 2: Partition SD card


Now its time to prepare your SD card for partitioning it to increase the internal memory of your phone. I recommend using MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition for this purpose. Here's how to proceed:


1. Take out your SD card from the phone (unmount it and then remove). Put it in a SD card reader and insert the reader into your laptop. DO NOT connect SD card to computer via phone's USB cable.
2. Backup your sd card- transfer all existing data on the SD Card to your PC and clean it completely by deleting all files from it
3. Open Minitool Partition wizard. You will find your SD card listed in it
4. You will see that the existing partition is FAT32 system. RESIZE (by dragging the mouse backwards in the bar) your existing FAT32 partition to a size where your unallocated space is at least 1GB but not more than 2GB. (I am using 16 GB memory card class 4, and I resized my unallocated space to 1.8 GB)
5. Create a new ext4 Primary partition using all the unallocated space. Note that the new partition should be PRIMARY, not logical and EXT4, not FAT32.
6. Click on "Apply".

Note: DO NOT try to delete and create the initial FAT32 and create ext4 from scratch. Just resize the existing FAT32 and create ext4 from unallocated space.


7.Once the partition has been made, you will see that the free space on your card has decreased by the amount you separated for ext4 partition. The computer will not show you the ext4 partition space. So, don't worry.


Step 3: Flashing JaggyROM

1. I hope you have downloaded the latest version of JaggyRom to your computer. Copy the latest version of JaggyROM.zip to the sdcard root. Don't place inside any folder, keep it outside. Rename it to update.zip

2. Disconnect the USB cable and reboot into Recovery menu again.

3. Select "Wipe data/factory reset" option.


Note: this option is present inside the Recovery menu and is not the "Factory Reset" option available outside of Recovery menu. Okay, don't get confused.

4. Select "Install zip from SD Card" >> "Apply /sdcard/update.zip" >> Confirm.

5. Once done, select "reboot system"

6. First boot takes a little longer than normal. So please be patient and don't try to reset the device. The JaggyROM boot screen will show up in some time with animation and HTC logo. Don't touch the device yet. 

7. Once booted up, let the phone stabilize before unlocking the screen.

8. If you've installed the overclocked version of JaggyROM, you can go ahead and install the latest version of setCPU. to change your CPU settings..

9. And now, your hard work has bore fruit. Go ahead and install as many apps you want and you will never again see "Low internal memory" pop up in the notification panel. I recommend using Titanium backup for moving apps and app data to sd partition. Then you can make the most out of your phone. About using Titanium backup in next tutorial...enjoy.


Readers are requested to leave comments/feedback/queries.

Rooting HTC Explorer Android : Step by Step Tutorial

Tutorial 2 Exploring HTC Explorer :Rooting Your HTC Explorer (HTC Pico)

Before beginning this step, I hope you are familiar with the term 'Rooting'. If not, click here.

Note: Rooting your HTC Explorer (Pico) will void your warranty. HTC will no longer be responsible for any dysfunction in your phone. If you wish to continue, it's your own wish. Rooting incorrectly may also brick you phone. You cannot hold me responsible for any kind of damages.

Note: Rooting process will NOT change anything in your phone, it just make root access possible, if you want overclock and ext-2/3/4 partitions possible you will have to flash (install) a custom ROM once you finish rooting with this tutorial.

Prime Requisites :

• Take Backup of your HTC Explorer phone contacts, your apps and your accounts associated with it. Also backup your sd card.
• Make sure Your Android phone is atleast 50-60 % charged so that it can’t get switched off during the rooting process.
• Download  A310e recovery.zip and  extract it in any window on your PC (ie: C:\HTC). This will work for HTC explorer, for other HTC phones, try finding the recovery.zip on xda-developers.com
• Download Superuser.zip and place it in your sd card prior to starting the rooting process.
• Disable Anti virus and other tools in your computer
• Enable USB debugging on your phone by setting >> applications >> development >> check USB debugging and Stay awake too.

Now lets begin with the rooting of your HTC Explorer.

Step 1. Install latest version of HTC Sync on your PC

I hope you have completed this step in unlocking the bootloader for HTC Explorer (Pico). You can download it from: www.htc.com/www/help/htc-explorer/#download
( it is needed so that computer recognizes commands properly)

Step 2. Unlock the phone's bootloader

- I hope you have done this one too. If not, follow the steps in my first tutorial. 

Note: HTC Explorer isn´t listed in the device list on htcdev.com but I have tested this myself and it works perfectly. Choose "all other supported models" when selecting your phone.

Step 3. Add a recovery to your phone 

(Adding recovery will prove useful later on in the case you want to install/flash custom .zip ROMs on your phone)


- I hope you have downloaded A310E Recovery.zip by now.
- extract it in any window on your PC (ie: C:\HTC)

-put the phone in fastboot mode ( after removing-inserting the battery and pressing "volume down" and "power" buttons simultaneously, select fastboot from the menu ) and connect it with your PC via usb cable.  See images below

- open the directory where you extracted the A310e recovery.zip and run the recovery.bat (on your computer) with the phone in fastboot mode and connected vis USB cable. See image below.

Done! You got the recovery installed if no errors occurs, you can now install any compatible .zip ROM or app on your phone.

Step 4. ROOT your phone

Now, disconnect your phone from the computer. power it down from the menu. Remove-insert battery, press volume down+power buttons simultaneously and select 'Recovery' from the menu.

- I hope you had placed the Superuser.zip file somewhere in the microSD card earlier.

- Now after getting into Recovery menu install Superuser.zip with the option "install .zip from sd >> choose zip from sd >> select superuser.zip" from the recovery menu. Once done, you will receive the message on screen of your phone that it has been rooted.

Congratulations, your HTC Explorer (Pico) is now ROOTED !! 

Note: after rooting do not press 'restore to factory setting' if you don´t want to end up in a bootloop.

Readers are requested to leave their feedback/comments/queries. This will help me in improving the blog