Samsung Galaxy S II

erie

anyone here have 3 stock kernel & firmware???

PDA : XWKE1
Phone : NEKD5
CSC : 3IEKE1

here video for re flash to original '3' network with UK '3' FW & kernel : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzo000J-cmU

as far as I can remember, '3' FW in Ireland didn't have pre install games 'The Sims 3' , 'TBloxx My City' and 'Monopoly'...

Zagato

brian_ire wrote: »

Hi all!

Just got my S2 today and i'm delighted with it!

Just a quick question as to what cover/screen protection people are using?

I had the HTC Hero for 2 years and never bothered with anything for it but the S2 feels so delicate and i fear my butter fingers could do it some damage!

I don't want to put a thick case on it as I love its slimness, so I just wanted to see what other boardsies were doing!

Like yourself, had Hero for 2 years, and no scratches over that time on the screen.
Thought that with Gorilla Glass on the SGS2, that I would have little to fear. Scratched the screen day 1 :eek::eek:
Not very impressed given that I am fairly careful (well I was out til 4.30 that night )

Didn't really want to get a screen protector, as I was concerned it would disimprove the feel/responsiveness of the screen, so I got a slim leather flip case that protects the screen when it's in my pocket. Got a Zenus Case.

I got the black one.


There is a thorough review over at XDA

Not cheap though , was in kind of celebratory mood after I discovered that my upgrade was free

Dempsey

Just got one of these and its charging away here beside me but I havent had to buy a phone in 6 years so my knowledge of androids is pretty much non existent. Anyone know of any good guides/tutorials that I should give a read.

I see people talking about different ROMs/setups, I would like to get an understanding of that but there is alot of misinformation and conflicting opinions when I google stuff so I'm thinking that the guys here could give me some solid pointers.

Thanks in Advance.

seanp_25

erie wrote: »

anyone here have 3 stock kernel & firmware???

PDA : XWKE1
Phone : NEKD5
CSC : 3IEKE1

here video for re flash to original '3' network with UK '3' FW & kernel : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzo000J-cmU

as far as I can remember, '3' FW in Ireland didn't have pre install games 'The Sims 3' , 'TBloxx My City' and 'Monopoly'...

Also looking for the stock Meteor kernel & firmware. Has anyone copied it before they went rooting etc?

Would be handy if anyone needs to return/exchange their phone to return it to stock Meteor unrooted condition first.

Zagato

Dempsey wrote: »

Just got one of these and its charging away here beside me but I havent had to buy a phone in 6 years so my knowledge of androids is pretty much non existent. Anyone know of any good guides/tutorials that I should give a read.

I see people talking about different ROMs/setups, I would like to get an understanding of that but there is alot of misinformation and conflicting opinions when I google stuff so I'm thinking that the guys here could give me some solid pointers.

Thanks in Advance.

There's not a lot to it. You'll need a google account, and then you're best bet is to import your contacts and calendar into google, and then they will always automatically sync (over the air).

Then add widgets (long press on the home screen) and icons to your homescreens to your taste. There are plenty more available on the market.

A good idea is to look at some threads where people post screenshots of their homescreens to get some ideas.
There is one specifically for SGS2 here at XDA
And another one here on boards for android in general.

If it's your first smartphone, the first thing you'll notice is that you have to charge it pretty much every day. The screen usually uses most of the battery and turning down the screen brightness, and shortening the screen timeout can help. Also switch off GPS (pull down the bar at the top of the screen and a toggle switch will be there) when you don't need it.

If you don't like the user interface, you don't have to root or change the ROM (firmware), you can just use a different free launcher available on the android market (such LauncherPro, ADW Launcher, of GO Launcher) these are more customisable and have different themes available to complement them.

Rooting your phone allows you to

1. remove/block system apps which may be running in the background (using battery) despite maybe you having no want or need for them
2. Use apps that require root access (caution here with how much access you give 3rd party apps)

Custom firmwares generally run a slimmed down version of Samsung's firmware so should be lighter on battery.


SGS2 has Swype keyboard installed, but it is not the default keyboard. It is a matter of taste but can speed up your typing significantly. To enable it long press in any text box and a menu will pop up, select input method, and then Swype -give it a whirl, it's as easy to switch back.

Here's a list of apps I actually use:

Doubletwist - Syncs with your itunes (or Doubletwist for you PC)
Beautiful Widgets* - Pretty clocks and weather widgets
ADWLauncher
Bloat Freezer -requires root
Simi clock - Another clock widget
Bubble - use your phone as a level
Dropbox - Synchronise files/photos over the air
Pulse News - for reading blogs/news posts
SMS Backup and Restore - Allows you to back up texts on a schedule
Textdroid - send your webtexts
Tweetdeck - Twitter client
Official XBMC Remote - Wifi Remote Control for XBMC
Data Counter Widget - keep track of your data usage
TripIt - Mange your itinerary
Dublin Bus - Real time bus information
Sayso - Reviews of local resataurants and such
WhatsApp - Instant Messenger
Viber - VOIP client, not on the market you need to sign up for beta via website
Formula1.com 2011 - What can I say I'm a bit of a nerd!
Handcentsms - an alternative sms app


Anyway there's my waffly 2 cents

Zascar

Guys does anyone who has the Galaxy S2 interested to try the HTC Sensation? I have the Sensation and really like it, great phone, but having had a Desire before that I kinda fancy a change. If anyone is on for a swap please let me know.

0scar

I'm getting one later today when I port from meteor Zascar, originally wanted the HTC but can't pass up the free SGII on Three now that they've released the price of the Sensation. If I don't fall in love with the SGII I'll let you know!:)

marathonic

0scar wrote: »

I'm getting one later today when I port from meteor Zascar, originally wanted the HTC but can't pass up the free SGII on Three now that they've released the price of the Sensation. If I don't fall in love with the SGII I'll let you know!:)

Why are you porting from Meteor to Three?

I'm considering porting to Meteor as I can get the SGII on a 12 month contract for €30 per month. The phone costs money with Meteor but the contract is €10 per month less and you're contract free after a year.

Kenny Logins

marathonic wrote: »

Why are you porting from Meteor to Three?

I'm considering porting to Meteor as I can get the SGII on a 12 month contract for €30 per month. The phone costs money with Meteor but the contract is €10 per month less and you're contract free after a year.

That is the best deal/contract out there IMHO.

0scar

I spoke to Meteor Sales last week, they said they'd let me upgrade to the SGII & buy it for €89, but I'd have to go with a €65 per month contract (currently on bill pay connect 50, 500 minutes/texts).
As it is I never use anywhere near my minutes etc, so the same handset free, on 40 per month with all you can eat Data & 350 minutes with Three seemed okay (albeit for 24 months). But my head is fried these days with small children, so I'm probably missing something!

Kenny Logins

0scar wrote: »

I spoke to Meteor Sales last week, they said they'd let me upgrade to the SGII & buy it for €89, but I'd have to go with a €65 per month contract (currently on bill pay connect 50, 500 minutes/texts).
As it is I never use anywhere near my minutes etc, so the same handset free, on 40 per month with all you can eat Data & 350 minutes with Three seemed okay (albeit for 24 months). But my head is fried these days with small children, so I'm probably missing something!

How many minutes and texts do you use? 'All you can eat data' isn't for everyone - it is very difficult to go over 1gig in regular use, unless you stream a lot videos and radio etc.

marathonic

0scar wrote: »

I spoke to Meteor Sales last week, they said they'd let me upgrade to the SGII & buy it for €89, but I'd have to go with a €65 per month contract (currently on bill pay connect 50, 500 minutes/texts).
As it is I never use anywhere near my minutes etc, so the same handset free, on 40 per month with all you can eat Data & 350 minutes with Three seemed okay (albeit for 24 months). But my head is fried these days with small children, so I'm probably missing something!

Hmmm!!! Not a very good deal compared to porting to them. I wonder how long you'd have to port away for before you'd be considered a 'new' meteor customer?

On another note, I tried ordering the Samsung Galaxy SII earlier but it wasn't accepting my credit card details. I assumed it was something to do with my work computer security settings so planned to do it later from home. Now it's out of stock.

Here's hoping it doesn't go back up in price - it's still in stock on PAYG

0scar

Kenny Logins wrote: »

How many minutes and texts do you use? 'All you can eat data' isn't for everyone - it is very difficult to go over 1gig in regular use, unless you stream a lot videos and radio etc.

I'd never use a huge amount of data to be honest, have wifi at home & work, don't have a long commute etc. to be sitting downloading stuff. Don't know off hand how many minutes exactly & the "My meteor" login is down right now so can't access it.

marathonic

0scar wrote: »

I'd never use a huge amount of data to be honest, have wifi at home & work, don't have a long commute etc. to be sitting downloading stuff. Don't know off hand how many minutes exactly & the "My meteor" login is down right now so can't access it.

I've just sent you a PM. Basically, if porting to a new network, you should use FatCheese as it gives you good cashback offers.

bmstuff

I bought the SII from the 02 shop recently, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, 3G shop etc, would not sell one to me without going with a 18 or 24 months contract. Impossible to get it on pre-pay. They all told me they have limited stock and only sell them to contract customer, which I am, but still 10 months away from my free upgrade.

But 02 sold it to me for 519 euro (lower than any other shop anyway) with a pre pay card, which promptly ended up to the bin since I am a Vodafone customer.

When I was about to unlock it after I rooted the phone, I turned out the 02 phone was not even locked
So since it has been running Litening_Rom 1.4 and will be upgrading it to 1.5 later on today or so.

That's a dawn good phone, my SI is so much slower...

Kenny Logins

bmstuff wrote: »

I bought the SII from the 02 shop recently, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, 3G shop etc, would not sell one to me without going with a 18 or 24 months contract. Impossible to get it on pre-pay. They all told me they have limited stock and only sell them to contract customer, which I am, but still 10 months away from my free upgrade.

But 02 sold it to me for 519 euro (lower than any other shop anyway) with a pre pay card, which promptly ended up to the bin since I am a Vodafone customer.

When I was about to unlock it after I rooted the phone, I turned out the 02 phone was not even locked
So since it has been running Litening_Rom 1.4 and will be upgrading it to 1.5 later on today or so.

That's a dawn good phone, my SI is so much slower...

Ha? It's €479 online with Vodafone PAYG...

Dempsey

bmstuff wrote: »

I bought the SII from the 02 shop recently, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, 3G shop etc, would not sell one to me without going with a 18 or 24 months contract. Impossible to get it on pre-pay. They all told me they have limited stock and only sell them to contract customer, which I am, but still 10 months away from my free upgrade.

I got that the other day too. Went into the Vodafone shop in Thurles, waited 10 minutes to be served, told that they arent selling these to prepay customers. She even rang someone to confirm that she couldnt. I wasnt bothered explaining that I could just buy the thing off the website no hassle.

Walked up town to the Carphone Warehouse and asked for the phone. Just when I thought he was going to give me the same speech he says to me "They are €480 (with a do you realise the price look) and I just nodded! :cool:

Only in Ireland could you walk into a shop looking to part with alot of money and be refused!

AlmightyCushion

Dempsey wrote: »

I got that the other day too. Went into the Vodafone shop in Thurles, waited 10 minutes to be served, told that they arent selling these to prepay customers. She even rang someone to confirm that she couldnt. I wasnt bothered explaining that I could just buy the thing off the website no hassle.

Walked up town to the Carphone Warehouse and asked for the phone. Just when I thought he was going to give me the same speech he says to me "They are €480 (with a do you realise the price look) and I just nodded! :cool:

Only in Ireland could you walk into a shop looking to part with alot of money and be refused!

They make more money from bill pay customers so when stock is tight they'll keep them for the ones that will make them more cash. Saying stock doesn't seem to be all that tight, anyone I know who has wanted one, got one easily enough.

Dempsey

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

They make more money from bill pay customers so when stock is tight they'll keep them for the ones that will make them more cash. Saying stock doesn't seem to be all that tight, anyone I know who has wanted one, got one easily enough.

In theory that may be the case but in reality I wonder if they have. I wont be buying anything out of that shop ever again and I'll be recommending people to buy elsewhere too.

marathonic

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

They make more money from bill pay customers so when stock is tight they'll keep them for the ones that will make them more cash. Saying stock doesn't seem to be all that tight, anyone I know who has wanted one, got one easily enough.

Meteor are the opposite at the moment - Galaxy SII in stock for PAYG but out of stock for bill pay..... :mad:

eamondunphy

how's everyones battery doing?

how much do you use the phone, i use the phone alot for texts, calls and internet but never for music or video and today my phone was down to 20% after 10hours.

some people and reviews say that the battery should last up to 2/3 days with heavy use

-Corkie-

Im getting one of these at the weekend. I always had Nokias but I am changing to this.

Are they a good phone as in are they better than the Iphone4.

Kenny Logins

-Corkie- wrote: »

Im getting one of these at the weekend. I always had Nokias but I am changing to this.

Are they a good phone as in are they better than the Iphone4.

Not as intuitive, and not as consistent in terms of appearance and standard of apps etc. You will find there are a few ways to skin your cat but I think that's the appeal for many; the added options and 'freedom'.
I'm very happy with mine and find iphone a little restrictive.

TheIrishGrover

eamondunphy wrote: »

how's everyones battery doing?

how much do you use the phone, i use the phone alot for texts, calls and internet but never for music or video and today my phone was down to 20% after 10hours.

some people and reviews say that the battery should last up to 2/3 days with heavy use

2-3 days with heavy use? No, I'd say you were right with two thirds of a day with heavy use. Your rate there seems to be about right. I mean depending on the internet usage especially. You may not be using the video functions of the phone but Flash (even excluding flash video) on websites can be a processor, and therefor a battery, hog. To be honest, I don't think there's a smartphone out there that will give you 2 to 3 days heavy usage. (I could be wrong. Maybe the iPhone's lack of flash support helps its battery but, to be honest, I'd rather take the battery hit for the amount of times I use the net heavily than be lumbered with a hobbled phone)

Ardent

Kenny Logins wrote: »

That is the best deal/contract out there IMHO.

Agreed. That's the one I went for too. It boggles my mind how people sign up to two year contracts just so they can get a phone with little or no up-front payment.

marathonic

Ardent wrote: »

Agreed. That's the one I went for too. It boggles my mind how people sign up to two year contracts just so they can get a phone with little or no up-front payment.

They're out of stock now.... grrrr!!! :-)

I'm flip-flopping over and back between getting this on Meteor or waiting for the iPhone 5 on Three.

Call me a conspiracy theorist but I reckon Apple are smart enough to realise that if too many components in their next release don't match or beat the spec of the components on the Galaxy S II, a lot of people will jump ship. If, for example, Apple had intended to use a less powerful processor, I reckon they'll now 'up' the spec before they start the assembly of the iPhone 5.

A big thing for me is the battery life as I use GPS cycling apps and could be out in the bike for 5+ hours. GPS is very sore on battery life and that's my main worry about the SGII.

Zascar

Very interesting point. Can't wait to see what they come out with. Totally agree that unless they really come out with something special, they will look a bit silly in comparison to two other phones that have been out for ages. However, regardless, we all know that if they did come out with a crappy revision that is nothing better than the S2 or HTC etc – they will claim it is a revolution that ‘changes everything again’ and all the iphone fanboys will flock to buy it thinking it’s the best thing ever invented.

Dempsey

I think the big thing apple will drive for is improving battery life (and more memory obviously) and continue to promote their iTunes Store & Apps market as their advantage over the android market.

terrarev

eamondunphy wrote: »

how's everyones battery doing?

how much do you use the phone, i use the phone alot for texts, calls and internet but never for music or video and today my phone was down to 20% after 10hours.

some people and reviews say that the battery should last up to 2/3 days with heavy use

I just got the phone on Tuesday and it's still on it's full first charge. So far it's been off charge for 37hrs and I have 28% battery left. I've not made any ROM changes or special tweeks.

I do have it rooted but haven't made any changes yet that you couldn't do without it.

My usage wouldn't have been heavy but I'd have used it for a few phone calls, texts and browsing for a bit in that time.

*EDIT

Actually, I lie. I have tasker set up to turn off auto syncing during the night and during the day at work so that would be helping things.

valdigre

marathonic wrote: »

They're out of stock now.... grrrr!!! :-)

I'm flip-flopping over and back between getting this on Meteor or waiting for the iPhone 5 on Three.

Call me a conspiracy theorist but I reckon Apple are smart enough to realise that if too many components in their next release don't match or beat the spec of the components on the Galaxy S II, a lot of people will jump ship. If, for example, Apple had intended to use a less powerful processor, I reckon they'll now 'up' the spec before they start the assembly of the iPhone 5.

A big thing for me is the battery life as I use GPS cycling apps and could be out in the bike for 5+ hours. GPS is very sore on battery life and that's my main worry about the SGII.

Can you show me at least one phone with a comparable screen size, that will last 5 hours of gps nav?

It will last around 2-3 hours gps nav in auto brightess set, should last more when screen is dimmed but then again, not much use in the sun light (unless you just use voice for nav)...

I have the phone more than a month, I uploaded Litening Rom for i9100 today and am very happy.

marathonic

valdigre wrote: »

Can you show me at least one phone with a comparable screen size, that will last 5 hours of gps nav?

It will last around 2-3 hours gps nav in auto brightess set, should last more when screen is dimmed but then again, not much use in the sun light (unless you just use voice for nav)...

I have the phone more than a month, I uploaded Litening Rom for i9100 today and am very happy.

That's the thing I should have mentioned. My iPhone 3G lasts that long with GPS on but I lock the screen so it's displaying nothing - just tracks where I go on the bike and uploads it to a google map when I get back home. A great cycling app and hopefully there's something similar on Android.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

For anyone waiting on the 'official' 3Ireland firmware, it's available over on the XDA forums.

Quote from Intratech "3 Ireland XWKF4 firmware and kernel now available"

Find details here.

Hopefully it'll become available via KIES soon. I'm going to give it a try via Odin.

Edit: It is available via KIES - PDA: KF4, PHONE:KF2, CSC:KF1 (3IE)

jjp123

Hi,

SII is my first smart phone. Which Rom would people recommend and why?

Thanks

amdaley28

jjp123 wrote: »

Hi,

SII is my first smart phone. Which Rom would people recommend and why?

Thanks

Why do you want to change it ? Whats wrong with the stock Rom ?

jjp123

hoping to try and improve the battery.

byte

BearNecessities wrote: »

For anyone waiting on the 'official' 3Ireland firmware, it's available over on the XDA forums.

Quote from Intratech "3 Ireland XWKF4 firmware and kernel now available"

Find details here.

Hopefully it'll become available via KIES soon. I'm going to give it a try via Odin.

Edit: It is available via KIES - PDA: KF4, PHONE:KF2, CSC:KF1 (3IE)

Hah, days after I upgraded to a standard KF2 using Odin (which turned out to be much easier than I had expected). Now, I don't think I can update the normal way anymore?

-Corkie-

amdaley28 wrote: »

Why do you want to change it ? Whats wrong with the stock Rom ?

Whats ROM????. I only got one today from Vodafone, do they have the latest sofware installed on it?

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

You still can but you'll have to flash back to the official ROM. You can download it from XDA.
I was waiting for the stock ROM to become available before I started flashing some custom ROMs - just in case I'd have to send it back.

I'll give the update a go for a week or so to see what it's like.

byte wrote: »

Hah, days after I upgraded to a standard KF2 using Odin (which turned out to be much easier than I had expected). Now, I don't think I can update the normal way anymore?

lewis

Dempsey wrote: »

Walked up town to the Carphone Warehouse and asked for the phone. Just when I thought he was going to give me the same speech he says to me "They are €480 (with a do you realise the price look) and I just nodded! :cool:

Only in Ireland could you walk into a shop looking to part with alot of money and be refused!

That`s so true, when I got my SGS1 on prepay your one in O2 gave me the look and said, (can`t remember the exact price) it`s €480, you know that right?
As if I did`nt know I was going to spend nearly €500, I should have played dumb and freak out, lol. She was`nt exactly doing her best to sell me it, more concerned that I`ll be spending €500 on a phone, lol

marathonic

How long do Meteor generally take to get a phone like this back in stock? I guess they're running low and trying to sell them in-store so they don't need to give the online discount :mad:

I noticed that vodafone were out of stock yesterday morning but appear to have them back in stock.

I need to order a phone by early next week so, unless they come back in stock, it looks like a choice between:

• Meteor Sony Ericson Xperia Arc
• Meteor HTC Desire S
• Three Samsung Galaxy SII

Meteor will be losing a lot of market share considering they don't have the two latest/best phones on the market in stock: the Galaxy S2 and the HTC Sensation.

BenEadir

jjp123 wrote: »

Hi,

SII is my first smart phone. Which Rom would people recommend and why?

Thanks

JJP,

I've had stock KE1, Litebing 1.5 and now Villain 1.4 with some Villain Tweaks (like turning off the annoying screen lightup and vibrate at 4am when fully charged) and I have to say that for me the Villlain Rom is working a treat. I'm getting much improved battery life, speed is really good and no FC's + theres a great support website with what seems a very dedicated development crew so as the song says - things can only get better.

TBH There wasn't a lot wrong with the Stock ROM but I couldn't bear all the Vodafone crap on the phone and whilst Litening was OK I feel Villain is just that bit better.

I documented my ROM exploits over on a new thread dedicated to ROM flashing here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056315512 and hopefully others into flashing ROM's on the SGS II will frequent that thread to share their experiences also rather than clogging up this "General" SGS II thread with all that geeky ROM stuff

Happy modding.

Ben

terrarev

Quick question regarding this phone, and I fear I already know the answer here.

Is there anyway to link the notification volume and the ringer volume on the S2 so that when I use the volume rocker on the side of the phone it turns down both.

I've come from a HTC Hero and in the volume settings you could select the "Use Ringer volume for Notifications" setting to get this but I don't see it in the S2. It's a bit of a pain if you just want to reduce all ringers/notification that you have to go into the volume menu to do it.

Kenny Logins

A volume widget might help -

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.audiowidget

lewis

Kenny Logins wrote: »

A volume widget might help -

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.audiowidget

Very good widget, lots of skins for it!

terrarev

Thanks, I've been able to get the functionality with the Quick Setting app, I was just wondering if there was a way to do it natively. I was just surprised it would be taken out considering it's a part of stock Android.

Another one that I've found is not being able turn off the camera sounds on the phone. I know you can do it with a small hack but it's just another silly little oversight by Samsung.

maynooth_rules

Anyone ordered this phone off meteor.ie? I did on Monday, and despite the fact that they said I would have the contract within two working days, I am still waiting for it. Rang them twice and they said it will only be another day or so:rolleyes:. They were blaming a lot of orders for bill phones for the new I Phone. Now I see they are out of stock. The woman on the phone said that id still get it as it was in stock when I ordered. Hurry the hell up meteor, this is really annoying. They were quick enough to take the money from my account, they should be quick enough to sed out my contract

el dude

My sister is after getting one of these from o2, on the €35/month contract, and was told she didn't have to pay anything for the phone. Which seems a bit dubious to me as on the website they're looking for €260 for the phone on the same contract. She has the phone now anyway and didn't have to pay anything up front but she's worried now that they'll bill her a couple of hundred in three weeks.

BenEadir

Hi guys,

In landscape mode which side should be facing the sky for optimal reception? The volume button or the power button?

Cheers,

Ben

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Just a quick one (might be in the thread already but its massive!)...I have the notification light set to certain colours for texts/whatsapp but it doesn't seem to come on when I receive anything? Like on my old Motorola Milestone if I got a text the light would stay blue till I looked at it.

Anyone else have this problem? Or is there no notification light at all?!

LEIN

Got mine with 3 on Wednesday and have to say im loving it so far. Battery is lasting ok as i turn internet off when not in use.