Mobile device status

Have been 'having fun' with my various Android devices in the last few days/week (?), after keeping ajour with CyanogenMod CM12 status.

The Galaxy Nexus from Samsung is a solid workhorse, too slow on startup for me to love it, but, when CM11 nightlies started dropping off in frequency, it was clear that things were moving fast on the CM12. Actually the developer had trouble with his own GNex too..

So, when a new Beta was released for the GNex I downloaded it, with a special Gapps version, read through the experiences others were having on XDA, and set at it with gusto. Its amazing where the time goes when playing with these things, so I had a couple of late nights and early mornings during the last week or so..

The CM12 beta installed OK, but there was space trouble for the first versions of Gapps I tried. Finally, I had success with the Pico version, and the long process of restoring apps began. Finally got things the way I like, using the Google Now launcher, though startup still suffers delays which I believe is related to sorting out the Carrier (Telenor). Will try it without a SIM, and see if that helps.

Lollipop was now running on the LG G3, the Nexus 10, Nexus 7 2013, and the GNex.

This left the Galaxy S2 running very fast on Stock 4.1.2. There was really no need to upgrade this device to Lollipop other than to see how it ran, but after quite a lot of preparation I downloaded various suggestions from old GS2 YouTubes aimed at getting my Recovery to a version required for CM12 installation.

Lots of the above were great for installing some kernel to get root status, but the only one that included a very old version of CWM was the Siyah kernel I had used a year or so ago.. When I had got the GS2 into a pretty hopeless state, the Siyah saved my bacon :)

Now I had the old CWM version it was possible to Restore what I believe was CM10 from the middle of last year. This restored slowly, but it got me to a state allowing Restore of CM11 from around Christmas. I then had CWM 6.0.4.5. Enough to install the CM12 Beta from lysergic, which awaited with the same Pico Gapps.

The CM12 Beta installed with no problems, and I was able to run Nandroid after setting things up the way I like. I am really impressed by how well Lollipop runs on this very old device. Equally as well as the GNex, and with 200+ MB free ram!

There we are then, all Lollipopped :)

This by the way is written on my new N20p 13" Chromebook from Lenovo.

Rooting the Galaxy S2, the odd man out

As the Nexus Rooting euphoria gradually faded away, I was left with my unrooted Samsung GS2. Looking for a way to Root this wonderful device required much Googling, and reading of XDA threads, as I searched for a Mac way to carry out this task. This proved to go unrewarded..

So often willing helpers would point to the simple PC way of carrying this out. "Use Wugfresh", "Get Odin", "Install Kies", etc., so, in the end I thought OK I'll give it a go, not knowing what frustrations this would stimulate!

At the time I had a tiny ASUS T91MT, which invariably started with an hour or so of Microsoft updates, before one could begin the slow process of installing Kies, a large package needed just for the drivers Odin requires. (Why can't someone simplify things and put up a link to the drivers?).

Anyway, all my thanks go to Jose Farrugia aka @wiredmash who offered the clearest instructions on Rooting the GS2, using the Siyah kernel, see the video and point by point instructions at http://www.wiredmash.com/how-to-root-samsung-galaxy-s2-i9100-jelly-bean-4-1-2/ ... :)

All went well with the above, but for one hitch. The Odin UI more than filled the vertical dimensions of the tiny T91MT, so I was unable to get at the Start button! I tried everything, including a lot of very bad language, until the solution came to mind - change the screen resolution! That gave me a 5x3 inch UI with a tiny Start button I could press, and a minute or so later all was done. Dead simple as the XDA guys said..

Galaxy S2 'updated' to be like Jelly Bean

Although I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the GS2 is the device I take with me, unless I'm on a 'photo shoot'.

The chances of Samsung ever upgrading the GS2 to Jelly Bean being slight, when I heard of Nova Launcher I thought why not try it.

Usually launchers last about 5 minutes on my phone, but after some persistent menu work I found out how to set it up very much like the Galaxy Nexus.

Not bad eh! :)

MWC Eyecatchers

Two things caught my eye. One I plan to buy as soon as it becomes available here in Norway.. the Nokia 808 PureView running the latest Nokia Belle OS. The technology interests me, and first shots taken with early versions of the product are phenomenal.. it will be interesting to see if any other camera/phones turn up with a similar optics system in the not too distant.

The other item which strikes a chord with my current thinking is the ASUS Padfone, though what I really am waiting for are some smooth ways to connect my Galaxy S2 to simple HDMI devices with sound. I don't need a tablet, I just need a screen to have in my lap..

Will we see more in 2012? I hope so!

It has rebooted again

Last time was on 9th January, so what has changed ?

One thing! I installed a Caffeine app today. It has been run only twice, but I will keep an eye on it now and remove it if further reboots occur in the coming days.

All quiet on the Nærsnes front..

This was the CES month with lots of reports of Android tablets, phones, TVs, and Ultrabooks.

The Asus Transformer Prime caught my eye, but I'm still concerned about readability, having had poor experience with the Asus T91MT Windows readability. Galaxy Tabs with their phenomenal screen quality are also still on my list, as is the Apple iPad 3 shortly to be announced I believe.

No mad rush from my point of view. All I really want now is the ICS update for my GS2!

Four days without an unwanted reboot

I put apps back on the 32 GB Sandisk sdcard on 21st December and its now after lunch on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to any one reading this.

There have been no reboots, so its looking pretty clear that formatting the card on the device has fixed the fairly frequent reboots earlier.

Google+ moved back to phone

I found the Google+ widget was missing when the app was on the Sdcard, so I moved it back..

Returned 32 GB card to GS2

After moving all apps back to the phone, I swapped out the 16 GB and went back to the original 32GB. Didn't reformat yet, or move any apps to the card. Will give the reboot problem a chance to reappear first.

Edit: Same evening, I have now moved the ten largest apps across to SDcard, most of which are games my Grandchildren play :)

Soon time to replace the 32 GB Sandisk card

The 16 GB Sandisk SDHC card has been working perfectly for 4 days now, so the next step I plan is to replace the rebooting 32 GB card, & see if the reboots return. IF they do I'll reformat the card and try again..

Android and iOS Cloud Print problem solved!

Was going wild when Google Help said I could Cloud Print from Google Docs, but no Print tag showed up on any of the EXISTING documents on my iPhone 4 or Galaxy S2!

Eventually, I created a new test document and damn me the Print feature appeared, and Cloud Print worked.

I also discovered existing documents needed to be Upgraded within Google Docs, after which more of those appeared OK.

Further notes on the GS2 reboot biz

On 9th December I installed the old Kingston 8 GB SDcard from my Nexus One in the GS2, formatted it, and ran a MyBackup Pro backup to it. Since then it has been working fine, no reboots, tho' it is still early days.

I'm expecting a pair of 16 GB Class 6 SanDisks to arrive from Dustin in the next day or so. I'll replace the Kingston with one of these and continue the test for up to a week before replacing the original 32 GB Class 4 SanDisk, reformatting it, and seeing if I have more reboots with the latter.

GS2 Reboot fixed?

Haven't had a reboot since 1st December, i.e. after removing the 32 GB Sandisk card.

I don't think its a problem with the card, but rather Android's handling of the card.. I'll give it another day or so before posting an update to the XDA thread.

The battery is giving between 1.5 - 1.8% per hour use, which I think is fine :)

Yet another reboot today

This is the first time the reboot occurred as I was trying to use the device.
I had picked it up, hit the home button and was unable to flip up the screen to access the home screen. Then it rebooted..
Edit: moved all apps back to the phone from the Sandisk 32 GB, and removed it!

The Reboot Saga Continues

Just before 11AM the GS2 rebooted :(
I have tried various things and am considering removal of the SD card next.. thank heavens it is a rare event!

Another reboot while GS2 idle

Not much to say, other than nothing I've done so far has helped... one thing I did notice was a Gmail sync at that time, but there's no way to know if it was the cause, or came immediately after the reboot.
NB Removed Gmail Sync and Auto Sync

Yet another GS2 reboot

Same as last time, ie while the phone was unused. There were no obvious  symptoms, so I followed the advice of a forum post, cleared the system cache, and restarted. Will post further events..

Galaxy S2 rebooting

The Galaxy S2 reboot problem has shown up again. This looks like being an interesting one to solve.
A number of people have reported it, and many tied it to the Dolphin browser, but I don't use that. In my case it happens when the device is unused!
Will get back with more info as it appears ..

New problem with the GS2

I don't seem to be the only one reporting occasional reboots. A long thread on Android forums was pretty convinced Dolphin was their problem, but I don't have that. Samsung Galaxy Forums threads made me think everyone has this now and then, so I'll see if it gets worse, start a mindmap, and try to track it down.

Fun ;)

May have found the battery culprit

The battery remained at around 85% throughout the night, which is what I expect with wi-fi off and no notifications expected.

The culprit might well have been the Eye-Fi app which I had seen taking an enormous amount of CPU, and it wouldn't stay force-closed, so I logged out of it totally, and then killed it.

Will be following the battery biz up anon..