Video Tutorial - How to Root, Install Recovery, and Install Custom ROMs on LG Optimus T / One

In order to supplement my previous blog post where I provided general information and links on how to root, install a custom recovery, install a custom ROM, and overclock your LG Optimus T / One, I have created two new videos. Please use this video in conjunction with my previous blog post (http://tablet-crunch.blogspot.com/2011/01/lg-optimus-t-rooting-recovery-rom.html). Please do this at your own risk as there is the possibility of bricking your phone (damaging it). I am NOT an expert or a developer, just someone who struggled through this process and thought people could really benefit from a more clear and concise guide on how to do this (instead of random information from different sources that is hard to follow). If you have problems or comments PLEASE post them in this blog and go to the XDA developers forum and search/post there!

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/user/canadabboy?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/WEu6vK1vVLE


Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/user/canadabboy?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/jD5tevq4dg4

LG Optimus T / One Video Review - Performance When Rooted With a Custom Overclocked ROM

Here is a video review I did to give everyone a look at how quick and snappy the LG Optimus T is after rooting, installing the custom ROM 'Megatron' from the XDA forums, and overclocking. Check out my other blog post on how to do this yourself, and I will post a video in the next few days giving a visual overview on how to do this yourself.

http://tablet-crunch.blogspot.com/2011/01/lg-optimus-t-rooting-recovery-rom.html

Please check out the source video at youtube for the HD version of this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC3zNMP3NrM

LG Optimus T - Rooting, Recovery, ROM Installation, and Overclocking

EDIT - I have added a video review of this phone with these modifications made.

http://tablet-crunch.blogspot.com/2011/01/lg-optimus-t-one-video-review.html

I have also added a video tutorial on how to do the following to your own phone. This video should be used as a supplement to this guide. Again, proceed at your own risk as I believe this voids your warranty. 

http://tablet-crunch.blogspot.com/2011/01/video-tutorial-how-to-root-install.html

In my WIND Mobile phone buying guide, the LG Optimus T  came up as the best valued phone. I purchased two of these phones from ebay for around $250 each (canadian, including shipping, duty, tax, and unlocking fees). I've been told by other users that they have paid upwards of $300, but I guess it depends where you get it from. I'm going to go over how you can root your phone, install custom ROMs (custom unofficial versions of the firmware/operating system), and overclock your phone. Remember, this is not official and I believe voids the warranty of your phone, and there is a risk that if something goes wrong you can brick your phone (essentially destroy it, although sometimes recovering it is possible). The sites I am going to link you to give detailed walkthroughs and should outline the possible risks. I have done the following with two different LG Optimus T phones with no problems, but there is a risk i'm told. This processes can be a bit frustrating and challenging to figure out and it can be hard to find everything, so i've consolidated everything you need to this one post and provided links for each part. Remember, work carefully and proceed at your own risk!

Warning! This should only be performed on an LG Optimus T / One that has Android 2.2 froyo, NOT Android 2.2.1 froyo. Also this does NOT work with the Optimus S phone. You cannot root with Android 2.2.1 froyo firmware, and if you wish to continue to must DOWNGRADE to Android 2.2. Check "Settings - About Phone" and it should say 2.2. See the following link for more information on downgrading. The following thread also says that 2.2 is faster and more stable anyways, and suggests you use a class 4 or higher microSD card either way.


http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=901247


The first step is to root your phone. Luckily the program Z4root works as a 1-click rooting solution for the LG Optimus T. This application is no longer on the android market, but you can find it with a quick google search, or even better you can get it from the source at the XDA developers forums here.


 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833953


The XDA developers are going to come up a lot, because they do a lot of the work in making custom ROMs, rooting phones, etc... 


Step 1) Download Z4root onto your computer and load it onto your phones microSD card.


Step 2) Download an APK manager/installer from the Android market. This program will allow you to find the APK file that you just downloaded from the web and put onto your SD card, and install it onto your phone.  


Step 3) Run Z4root and root your phone (permanent rooting option).

Step 4) Install custom recovery.
Now, once you've rooted you need to install a custom recovery program, found here.

 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=844483


This program allows you to boot your phone into 'recovery mode', which enables you to flash (install) custom ROMs (like version of the operating system),  custom kernals (custom settings that enable overclocking), and perform backups of your entire system and all your apps (using titanium backup and NAND backup). Don't worry about these details for now, just follow the link above and walk through the guide. I downloaded a terminal emulator on my phone from the market in order to enter the commands they have listed. When you download the terminal emulator, open it up and then type "su" without the quotation marks. It will then ask you for superuser/root permission, and click YES. Now you will have a # sign and you can go ahead and type all of the commands listed on the website I linked above. Keep in mind that you do NOT type the # symbol for each command line. The # symbol just indicates that you are in the root directory of your SD card. Keep in mind this command (# mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak) did NOT work for me, but as i've read it isn't supposed to. If you read through the questions and comments in the walkthrough thread for installing this ROM, someone asks about this step not working. The developers response is...


"You don't want that file (referring to install-recovery.sh) there as it keeps recovery from "sticking" its not in all roms usually there ater you do an ota update. That command removes it. If its not there move on to next step."


So as you are going through and entering the commands, keep going even if this one gives an error (check the thread in the link and you'll read cases of other people who have had similar problems, and how they fixed them). As long as you're confident that you've typed in the commands as they are given, just keep going through them and hopefully it will work. Remember these are syntax sensitive, so make sure to copy them VERBATIM.  


Now keep in mind, I found installing the recovery to be the hardest part of this entire process. Also remember, all of these ZIP files you download (kernals, roms, recovery, etc...) must be copied over as the ZIP file. Do NOT unzip them and copy the contents to your SD card, this will NOT work. Once you have your phone rooted and the custom recovery install, you can quite easily install ANY ROM you want. This means that when people start releasing their custom 2.3 gingerbread ROMs (which usually come out long before the official firmware update is released) you can be the first one on the block to be running it.

Step 5) Download a custom ROM and flash it to your phone using the recovery you just installed. Now BEFORE you do anything, make sure to run a full backup. In the backup/restore section of the recovery, you want to do a full NAND backup. This custom ROM made over at the XDA forums will really make your phone fly. This one is called the Megatron ROM, and I really like it because it's really fast and pre-overclocked to 730 mhz. It has hardware acceleration enabled and a bunch of other fancy features that are NOT enabled with this phone stock. You will find window transitions, animations, and programs running much faster after installing this ROM. There are LOTS of different ROMs available to install, so head over to the XDA developers forum and check out what there is. I'm sticking with Megatron until android 2.3 gingerbread is released, but there are also other great options. There is even an alpha release of 2.3 gingerbread out right now for the Optimus T / One, although it isn't fully functioning and stable yet.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=870640

Step 6 (optional)) Install custom kernal to enable greater overclocking. The Megatron rom is plenty fast and is overclocked to 730 mhz without the need for any programs like SetCPU. If you want to go a bit higher, you can download a custom kernal here.


 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=866774


For the kernal you download it, move the zip file onto your SD card, boot into recovery mode, and then flash it from zip. Then when you reboot your phone you will be able to overclock past 730 mhz up to a stable 806 mhz. I've tried going higher, but 806 mhz seems to be the best stable speed to go with. Now in order to do this, you need the program SetCPU from the market. I had to buy this for 2-3 dollars, and it was worth it because I feel like my phone is a little bit more snappy at 806 mhz vs 730 mhz, but it's your choice. SetCPU also gives the option to scale back the CPU's clock speed when it isn't being used (i.e. when it's idle in your pocket), so I have mine set with a max of 806 mhz, and a minimum of 250 mhz.

EDIT - BIG news!!! You can go through that same process for step 6 to install the kernal for OC'ing, but a new kernal has been released that FIXES THE TOUCHSCREEN BUG!!!! So all of that crazy lag and slowdowns in games when you touch the screen (the CPU usages would spike to 100%) has been mostly fixed. This new kernal also allows overclocking the same as the one posted above at the start of step 6, so I would strongly advise to use this one instead!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=929941

Step 7) Here is a link to a thread at the XDA developers forum that was made as a central resource for all things LG Optimus T/One (these two phones are identical). You have the option of installing other ROMs and kernals you find, but these are the ones i've personally tried and that have worked well for me. Also, when a 2.3 gingerbread ROM is released, you can download it, load it to your SD card, boot into recovery, then flash the zip file and BOOM, you'll be running 2.3 gingerbread. Remember, before you do anything with new ROMs and kernals, always do a full NAND and nandroid backup from recovery, and do a full backup from Titanium backup. 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=901247

Step 8) Unlocking. I found this website to work perfectly for both of my LG Optimus T phones, and I got both codes within 12 hours.

http://theunlock.ca/html/pricemodels.php


An anonymous poster gave the following type in the comments section on unlocking.


"Also I suggest you add this in ur unlock section: this megatron rom is developed based on LP500, which is identical as LP509 but used by t-mobile in U.K. There is a possibility that the unlock code enter screen does not show up even you have the WIND SIM in place after reboot. Inorder to load the unlock code you'll need to type in: 2495#*500# instead 509, while other ROM developed based by other version require change the 500 to 510/507/511 etc. Mode number can be accessed by click "setting->about phone-> model number..

hope this helps.

make sure the unlock code is 16 digits no more no less...

i wasted four tries by entering 17 digits."

Step 9) Some benchmarks for my phone running the Megatron ROM, overclocked to 806 mhz.

With only Megatron ROM (730 mhz overclock built into the ROM):

Neocore - 48.1 FPS

Quadrant - 1221

Linpack - 8.767

With Megatron ROM and 806 mhz overclock:

Neocore - 51 FPS

Quadrant - 1350

Linpack - ~9.1

Stock phone out of the box with no tweaks:

Neocore - 44.0 FPS

Quadrant - 447

Linpack - 3.931

Overall I thought the phone was very nice and smooth stock, but it feels much smoother and nicer now! The menus and transitions are REALLY smooth, everything is great. Games stutter a bit here and there probably due to the touch screen bug, but hopefully 2.3 will fix that! I have angry birds which runs pretty well, just a bit choppy sometimes when my finger is on the screen. Again, this lag is caused by a problem in the Android code, which is supposed to be mostly fixed in Android 2.3 gingerbread.

Hope that was helpful, I will be following up with a short video review of my LG Optimus T, showing off the speed when using the Megatron ROM and 806 mhz overclock as discussed above!


Edit - Video is up! Go to the youtube page to view this video in HD!


http://tablet-crunch.blogspot.com/2011/01/lg-optimus-t-one-video-review.html

Wind Mobile Cell Phone Buying Guide

So unless you've been living under a rock (or maybe not a complete nerd I guess) you've heard of Wind Mobile in Canada. They are trying to break into the cellular market and snatch customers away from the big 3 (Rogers, Telus, Bell). I pretty much hate all of the incumbents in the Canadian wireless market, and so just the idea of a new entrant was really exciting to me (keep in mind, Fido, Virgin, Koodo, etc... are all owned by one of the big 3). Up until the end of January 2011, Wind Mobile is having an INCREDIBLE sale, with a wireless package that gives you unlimited everything for only $40 a month. Unlimited talk Canada/US wide, unlimited texting Canada/US wide, unlimited DATA, seriously unlimited. So the question now is what phone to get that works with Wind? Wind Mobile uses the same frequencies as T-Mobile in the US, and is NOT compatible with any of the other wireless companies in Canada, except Mobilicity. One thing I need to make very clear as well, there is NO iPhone anywhere in the world that will work with Wind Mobile. It doesn't matter if it's unlocked, or even the new CDMA Verizon iPhone, it will NOT work with Wind. This may change this summer with the iPhone 5, but we'll see.

I have compiled a chart of compatible phones with Wind, their specs, general pricing, and where they are available. Notice these are all Android phones. If you like blackberries, you won't find much info here, but then again if you like blackberries you probably want them for the BBM (blackberry messenger) and business related stuff. I caught some flack when I posted this chart to a Wind Mobile forum (http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1692533-I-compiled-an-AWS-phone-(wind-and-mobilicity-compatible-phone)-list-and-comparisons.) because I left off a lot of high end T-Mobile Android phones like the G2, mytouch 4G, and Samsung Vibrant (Galaxy S). I did this in purpose because I was looking for the best budget phones, since i'm a graduate student (graduate student is synonymous with over worked and under paid). I am also of the opinion that the official Android developers phone, the Google Nexus S, is the only high end Android phone people should consider at this moment (at least until the new dual core tegra 2 based phones start rolling out). The reason for this is because it is the ONLY phone that reliably and quickly gets Android updates. 

(Google Nexus S - official google developer phone guaranteed to get the fastest Android updates)

At this stage in the life of Google Android it is basically an advanced beta operating system with many bugs, and for this reason each new version of Android brings many improvements in performance and stability. Most phones take many months (to a year) to get an update, and even then many of them are NEVER upgraded. For example the Sony Xperia X10 (available at Mobilicity) and the Motorola XT720 (available at Wind Mobile) are both running Android 2.1 and will NEVER be upgraded past that. Android 2.2 froyo has been out for half a year or so, and 2.3 gingerbread was just released last month. Both 2.2 and 2.3 brought some drastic 'behind the scenes' improvements to Android, and due to the greed of the two previously mentioned phone companies they will NEVER be updated. They would prefer if you went out and bought their new phones...

(please click on picture to see full chart)

Now having said that, i'm going to strongly recommend the LG Optimus T (from T-Mobile in the US, must be purchased off ebay and then unlocked) because it is cheap (I bought 2 off ebay and paid between $240-250 Canadian, including shipping, tax, duty, and unlocking, but many people pay up to $300). The Google Nexus S might be a higher end phone with guaranteed fast updates, but it also costs around $600-700 Canadian all said and done. The Lg Optimus T is a very nice and capable phone, and with some rooting and custom ROMs (a custom ROM is like a custom firmware that is tweaked to run faster) I've got mine overclocked from 600 mhz up to 800 mhz, and running VERY smooth. I will another blog post outlining the general process for doing this, and the resource I used to figure it out (mostly the XDA developers forums). One of the most important things here is that the LG Optimus T comes pre-loaded with Android 2.2 froyo, and Lg has promised to update it to Android 2.3 in the near future. On the other hand the Galaxy S Vibrant has JUST got android 2.2 and will probably never officially get 2.3 gingerbread. 

(T-mobile LG Optimus T, same hardware as the LG Optimus One, but using the correct frequencies to be compatible with Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in Canada)

One other phone that is not listed that should be considered for people wanting a higher end phone than the Optimus T, but that don't want to pay upwards of $700 canadian for it. I was recently informed that you can purchase a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Vibrant phone (high end Galaxy S phone that is nearly identical to the Google Nexus S) for around $350-450 Canadian from ebay. This is obviously a very good deal for such a fast phone, and if you are computer savy and able to root and install custom roms, you could continue getting future updates long after Samsung officially stops giving them out (and it looks like froyo 2.2 is where Samsung will stop, unfortunately). 

(Samsung Galaxy Vibrant for T-Mobile, compatible with Wind and Mobilicity and overall the best phone for Wind for the money. I opted for the LG Optimus T since I got it for significantly less ($250 versus $400-450))

The best Android phone that Wind sells is the Motorola XT720, and I have to say that for the price this phone is a terrible deal. It will NEVER be updated beyond 2.1, has only 256 megs of ram, and Motorola is an awful company that is known for abandoning perfectly good phones and leaving all customers in the mud. Wind is supposed to be releasing a Samsung Galaxy S phone very soon, and I was told by several people working at Wind that they are currently testing it.


I would not recommend buying any android phone from Wind at this time. 

1. The best budget Android phone to use with Wind and Mobilicity is the Lg Optimus T from T-mobile, ordered off ebay. $200-300 Canadian including shipping, tax, duty, and unlocking.
2. The best overall phone for Wind and Mobilicity is the Samsung Galaxy Vibrant. It costs a bit more at around $350-450 from ebay, but it is quite a bit more powerful than the LG Optimus T, and nearly identical to the Google Nexus S.
3. The best android phone you can buy right now is the Google Nexus S, because as I said it is the official Google phone and gets updates. It gets ALL the updates, right away, and for Android that is really important. This will cost you $600-700 Canadian and so if money is no option this is great, otherwise I'd personally stick with one of the two previous options (I got two LG Optimus T phones for my girlfriend and I). 
4. Things will change in the next couple of months when the dual core Tegra 2 monsters start rolling out (Lg Optimus 2X, Motorola Atrix, etc...).

Comments and suggestions are appreciated!


I will soon post my brief review of the Lg Optimus T, as well as a quick guide to rooting, and where to find the info you need to install fast, overclocked, custom roms. Click a few of the adds on this page if you found this useful!