If you haven’t been living under a rock, you would know that Koush has been working on a touch based ClockworkMod recovery for our Android devices. Touch based recoveries are becoming more and more demanded since a few have already been launched in the Android world. However, to this date, a lot of users remain committed to the ClockworkMod recovery. So after teasing us with what the Touch based rcovery will be like, Koush has now released the recovery for the Galaxy Nexus (CDMA & GSM) and the Nexus S (GSM), but it’s a beta for now and remains largely untested. So if you own one of these devices, you can flash the recovery to your device quite easily.

If you have no clue what the hype is all about, you can catch this video of the recovery in action.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:

• A rooted Galaxy Nexus or Nexus S. See our guide on rooting the Galaxy Nexus | The Nexus S.
• ADB installed on your system. See our guide on what is ADB and how to install it.
• Touch Recovery Beta for Galaxy Nexus | Nexus S.

Instructions:

1. To begin, download the recovery image from the link above and copy it to the folder where fastboot.exe is in the Android SDK.
2. Boot your device in fastboot mode and connect it to the computer.
3. Open a terminal or command prompt and enter the following commands:

fastboot flash recovery name-of-img-file-here.img

fastboot reboot

That’s it, the recovery should now be permanently installed on your device.

[via phandroid]

Read ClockworkMod Recovery Touch For Nexus S & Galaxy Nexus [Install] by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The MOTOACTV (F100) Android watch gets ClockworkMod recovery 5! The tiny 1.6” screen sized Android device is trying to compete with the big guns here, where it was rooted almost as soon as it came out, and a few weeks later, it gets an Alpha version of ClockworMod recovery 5. Does this spell future custom kernels and ROMs for this device? We wait and see, but for now, if you have the Actv rooted, here’s ClockworkMod recovery for you, courtesy of RootzWiki forum member utkanos.

According to the developer, “there are missing images(known). This is because the ramdisk is extremely finicky on this device and it will not boot past 3.66mb in size. I trimmed out things that weren’t needed in order to make this work. The basic functionality you need should be there. ADB is also not functioning properly yet within recovery.”

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:

• A rooted MOTOACTV. See our guide on rooting the MOTOACTV.
• ADB installed on your system. See our guide on what is ADB and how to install it.
• ClockworkMod recovery image for Moto Actv.

Instructions:

1. To begin, download the recovery image from the link above and copy it to the location where fastboot.exe is in the Android SDK.
2. Make sure USB debugging is enabled on your device in Settings > Applications > Development, and connect the device to the PC.
3. Enter the following commands in terminal or command prompt:

adb push CWMR5x_F100_recoveryA.img /data/local/

adb shell

dd if=/data/local/CWMR5x_F100_recoveryA.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk1p13

exit

adb reboot recovery

Upon reboot, you should boot into the new recovery. For updates and queries, head over to the forum thread at RootzWiki.

Read Install ClockworkMod Recovery On MOTOACTV Android Watch [How To] by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Aptly named Droid 4 Utility Pre-Release for Windows, the tool has been developed for the Motorola Droid 4 and released by XDA-Developers forum member mattlgroff which, as the title suggests, includes more than just your one click root. Earlier we covered a guide on rooting the Droid 4, a solution that was out just as soon as the device was released, leaving Motorola wondering where the lacked in locking down their devices bootloader. While we leave Motorola to worry about that, we’re glad they let their guard down, or for that matter, kudos to Dan Rosenberg for his motofail exploit that rooted the device. Coming back to the multipurpose tool, it also brings along a one click root for the Droid 4 on ICS 4.0.3 even though an update is not here as yet. More on the functions and how you can use this tool, after the break!

If you’re contemplating on whether to root your device or not, you should see our guide on the top 10 reasons to root your Android device.

From the screenshot above, you can clearly see the features that the tool currently offers. However, fastboot functions will not work as there are not fastboot files included as yet. The developer has said to include a full fastboot restore in the future as well. The addition of the custom recovery via Safestrap Recovery app, gears your device up to get started with all its customization needs.

Now the question is how to go about using this tool?

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:

• Motorola USB Drivers for 32bit Windows | 64bit Windows.
• Droid 4 Utility.

Instructions:

1. To begin, make sure USB Debugging is enabled under Settings > Applications > Development.
2. Once that is done, download the Utility from the link above and extract the contents.
3. Connect the Droid 4 to the PC via the USB cable and run the file named Droid4Utility.bat.
4. Once the utility is launched, you will see a prompt as seen in the screenshot earlier, and all you have to do to get started, is make a selection of what you want to do.

That is it! If you just rooted your device through this tool, you may like to see our guide on the top 15 apps to install on a rooted Android device. For further updates and queries related to this tool, head over to the forum thread at XDA-Developers.

Read Root And Install Custom Recovery On Motorola Droid 4 With One Click by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Custom recovery for a rooted Android device should not be an option, but at times, the procedure involved puts off most users who try and do without a recovery installed. The Optimus 3D is not exactly a new phone on the market, but certainly one of the most popular Android devices out there. For that said device, recovery installation never really came easy, or if it did, you never got the option of 3 recoveries in one package. Yup, thanks to the efforts of XDA-Developers forum member Paki0402 the device gets a recovery toolkit containing the option to flash ClockworkMod recovery, ClockworkdMod Touch recovery and if things get really out of control, the stock LG recovery. Read on for more on how you can use this app for your Optimus 3D.

If you have no idea what custom recoveries can do for you, click here to see our guide on what is ClockworkMod recovery and how to use it.

So if you wish to proceed with flashing a recovery on your Optimus 3D, let’s get on with some flashing!

Disclaimer: Please attempt this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible in case your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to this method.

Requirements:

• A rooted Optimus 3D. Click here to see how to root the Optimus 3D.
• ADB Installed. Click here to see our guide on what is ADB and how to install it.
• Optimus 3D Recovery Toolkit.

Instructions:

1. To begin, download the recovery toolkit from the link above and extract the contents.
2. Connect the device to your PC and make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
3. Run the toolkit, and you’ll be faced with 3 options; to flash the stock recovery, ClockworkMod recovery or the ClockworkMod Touch recovery.
4. Simply hit the recovery you want to install and let the tool work its magic.

For updates and queries, related to this tool, head over to the forum thread at XDA-Developers.

Read Flash ClockworkMod Touch Or Stock Recovery With One Click On Optimus 3D by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The Xperia S gets a touch based custom recovery, called DoomRecovery, based on the famous ClockworkMod Touch recovery, thanks to the efforts of renowned XDA-Developers forum member and developer DooMLoRD. Credit also goes to Napstar from Team UtterChaos for adding in the touch capabilities to the recovery, Frosty666 for the vibration triggers, FreeXperia Team (Bin4ry & jerpelea) and of course, Koush.The recovery is based on the sources from the CWM 5.0.2.x but quite a few changes have been made to bring you the DoomRecovery including some really cool aesthetics. Read on after the break for a preview of the recovery running on the Xperia S and a tutorial on how to get this recovery running on your Xperia S.

The recovery, for now, is a part of the DoomKernel, so yes, if you want this recovery, you will have to install the kernel. You can read all about what the custom kernel has to offer over at this forum thread at XDA-Developers. If you’re wondering if you really need a custom recovery, go ahead and learn what is ClockworkMod recovery and how to use it.

The recovery, displays the current time and money battery level as you enter it, displays file size and MD5 sum when selecting update.zip, contains swipe gestures, haptic feedback and a lot more.

Here are the known bugs for now, according to the developers:

• All backups are done get time stamp of year 1970, don’t know why this happens but I am trying to sort it out some how.
• The recovery sometimes hangs – just press the power button and it will restart recovery without rebooting the device.
• There are some graphical glitches.
• Backups created with v01 recovery might give errors while restoring using v02 recovery. For a work around, go here.

Below you can see a video of the recovery on action on an Xperia Play, which will give you an idea of how the recovery will work on your device. Video courtesy of the developers.

Disclaimer: Please attempt this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible in case your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to this method.

Requirements:

• Unlocked bootloader. See our guide on how to unlock the bootloader on Sony Xperia S.
• Rooted Xperia S. See our guide on rooting the Xperia S.
• CWM  Recovery installed. Refer to the instructions on this forum thread to download and install CWM recovery on the Xperia S.
• DoomKernel v05.

Instructions:

1. Download the DoomKernel and copy the zip file to the root of your phone’s SD card.
2. Navigate to install zip from sdcard > choose zip from sdcard and select the kernel file.
3. Once the device reboots, the kernel should have been installed, along with the Doom Recovery.

Reboot the device and make sure you can boot into the OS. Then try to reboot the device into recovery mode and if all that works, the DoomRecovery has been properly setup on your Xperia S. For updates and queries, head over to the forum thread at XDA-Developers.

Read DoomRecovery Brings Touch Based Custom Recovery For Sony Xperia S by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Tool kits for Android devices are a blessing literally. With the abilities to perform multiple functions from one app and mostly via a convenient one click method. XDA-Developers recognized member hasoon2000 has been hard at work developing a toolkit for the latest HTC devices out there, but best of all, he has released versions of the toolkit that are particular to the device at hand. The tool kit covers the recent HTC One X, One S, Vivid, Rezound and the likes of myTouch 4G Slide and the Amaze 4G as well. The tool kit lets you not only root the device, install a custom recovery, flash a custom kernel, but brings with a few very useful extra commands as well. We talk more about it, and how you can use this tool, in detail after the break.

The best thing about this toolkit, is the fact that it caters to the most novice users – notice the step by step instructions and scripts laid out in the root procedure – and for advanced users as well, who want to flash a custom kernel to the device, boot into bootloaders or remove bloatware from the device.

The kernels, or the recoveries contained in the tool kit vary for the respective devices of course and as you can see, the above screenshot is that of the toolkit for the HTC Rezound. The toolkit will download the drivers to help you get started without worrying about installing the right USB drivers.

The Toolkit also contains some of the very useful XDA-Links incase you’d like to learn more about what you’re about to do, or find something new or cool for your device. Want to install an APK? Well there are alternative software out there, but heck, why not use a tool you already have in place. The toolkit brings in an APK installer as well, and to top it off, it not only installs, but backs up any installed apps as well. Even hotter, is the ability to all this in batch. More so, you can rename APK files, restore backed up data, or install apps to SD card.

So if you deem this powerful tool kit useful for your device, head over to the forum thread for your device from the links below.

HTC One X | HTC One S | HTC Rezound | HTC Vivid | HTC Amaze 4G | HTC myTouch 4G Slide

Read All-In-One Hack ToolKit For HTC One X, One S, Vivid, Rezound, myTouch 4G Slide & Amaze 4G by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

We at AddictiveTips always love to bring to you apps that provide the users with instant and convenient solutions to their routine technology-related issues. When it comes to Android, things are no different at all. As can be seen in our compilation of 10 best Android file browsers, we have already come across quite a few feature-packed file management apps for the Android platform. Managing your Android’s internal and external storage content from within the OS through a nifty file explorer is one thing, but what if you wanted to avail these tools right from within your device’s recovery? If you often flash custom ROMs or mod ZIP files onto your device, you might have, at least once or twice, forgotten to move the flashable ZIP file to local storage before rebooting into recovery. You can always use your custom recovery’s mount USB storage option to remedy such situations, but now, there’s a better way to go about it.  Fresh to the arena, AROMA File Manager by XDA member, amarullz, is among one of the very first successful attempts at providing Android users with a fully-functional root-level file explorer that can be operated from within system recovery; a custom recovery such as ClockworkMod Recovery.

AROMA File Manager is a skinnable, touch-enabled and immensely user-friendly file explorer lets you gain control over your Android’s local storage and the underlying data right from within the recovery mode without requiring you to completely boot into your Android OS.

AROMA File Manager is available on the XDA-Developers forum (link provided below) as a ZIP file that can be simply flashed in the same way as you’re used to flashing any custom Android ROM/flashable zip package. However, if you’re a neophyte in the Android world, all you need to do is reboot your device into recovery mode. Once you’ve stepped into to the recovery mode, select install ZIP from SD card > choose Zip from SD card > navigate to the directory that contains the ZIP file of AROMA File Manager. Next, install/flash the ZIP file to launch the file manager, and you’re good to go.

The developer has ensured that not only does AROMA File Manager cater to the basic file management needs of Android users right from within the recovery mode but also offers plenty of customization options to alter the looks of the app according to their personal preference. For instance, from the app’s main settings screen (Menu > Settings), you can set the toolbar style to show just the icons or icon and text, modify the font size, font style, the icon set, general theme, the default transition animation speed, the default language (English or Indonesian), and the option to automatically mount all installed storage paths on app launch. Here’s a brief list of various sought-after UI tweaks that AROMA File Manager has on offer:

• Font Family: Droid Sans Serif, Droid Sans, HTC Hand, Helvetica Neue Cn, Roboto
• Iconset: Generic, Holo, Sense
• Themes: Generic (the app’s own skin), ICS, MIUI, Sense 4

All the various aforementioned UI modifications, when coupled with the touch-enabled controls and an intuitive root-level file manager interface, make AROMA File Manager a handy prospect. Once you’re into the app’s main interface, it’s hard to tell whether you’re using a file manager from within the OS itself or the custom recovery, as is the case with AROMA File Manager. Upon launch, the app prompts you to calibrate the screen to test the effectiveness of the touch controls. Your device’s hardware keys can also be used as an alternative means to navigate to and control various facets of the file manager.

As with most file managers that we’ve already seen, batch-select mode in AROMA File Manager is also automatically enabled upon tapping the icon of the required file/folder. Tapping the folder title reveals all the underlying contents. Once the required data is selected, you can pick from the various controls on the toolbar at the bottom to manipulate the data accordingly. Needless to say, various file management options offered by AROMA File Manager for your selected content include copy/paste, cut, delete, add to favorites, check details, create new folder, and de/select all etc..

AROMA File Manager has been successfully tested on HTC Desire Z running ClockworkMod recovery (v5.0.2.7). While the app works almost flawlessly with most of its features, it does not always let you take a glance at the selected folder’s Details. What this means is that we’re unable to tell whether the app lets you modify the R/W privileges for the required folders or not. Hopefully, said bug will be removed by the time the app debuts in the Google Play Store, officially.

Other than that, AROMA File Manager can be cited as a well-finished product that can suffice adequately to your pre-boot file management needs on an Android device. Hit the link provided below to head over to the app’s XDA-Developers forum page from where you can check out the app’s features list in detail, and download its flashable ZIP to your Android device.

[via XDA-Developers]

Read AROMA File Manager: Touch-Enabled Android File Explorer That Runs Within Recovery by A. Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The official Team Win Recovery, ClockworkMod Touch Recovery, and the ClockworkMod recovery (non-touch) can now be flashed on the AT&T Galaxy S II Skyrocket and the T-Mobile in a single click or tap. Installing a custom recovery on your Android device is a vital and important step for those with rooted devices. The installation method is not always the same and varies from device to device, such as installing via ODIN (for Samsung devices), flashing via bootloader (HTC devices mostly), or flashing the file via an update.zip in the the original recovery. That said, one device often ends up supporting more than just one recovery, and these can adopt different installation methods as well. Given all this, it would be nice to have one app or tool that would flash the recovery of your choice straight away from one place. Easy Recovery Switcher, developed by XDA-Developers forum member starskyrob for the T-Mobile Galaxy S II, and the AT&T Galaxy S II Skyrocket is available as an App for Android, and as a desktop application as well. We take a look at how it works, after the break.

If you have no idea what purpose custom recoveries serve, read all about it here. To begin, whether you use the Windows based application or the Android app, you have the choice of these three recoveries as mentioned earlier:

• Official CWM Non-Touch
• Official CWM Touch
• Team Win Recovery

To flash a recovery using the Android app, or Windows application, make sure you have a rooted T-Mobile Galaxy S II. Click here to see our guide on rooting the T-Mobile Galaxy S II. You may also need to have the relevant USB drivers installed as well for Windows 32 bit | 64bit.

Easy Recovery Switcher Android App

1. To begin, download the Easy Recovery Switcher app and install it.
2. Download the zip file package and extract the contents to the root of your devices internal SD card.
3. Run the app and you will see a screen similar to the one as seen below.

1. Simply tap the recovery of your choice, and the installation will begin. Yup, that simple!

Easy Recovery Switcher Windows based application

1. To begin, download Easy Recovery Switcher and extract the contents.
2. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled and the device is plugged into the PC via USB.
3. From the extracted contents, simply run the Easy Automated Recovery Switcher.bat file and follow the onscreen instructions to begin flashing a recovery on your device.

For updates and queries related to this app and tool, head over to the forum thread at XDA-Developers.

Read Install CWM Touch Recovery Or TWRP On T-Mobile Galaxy S II & Skyrocket by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The Galaxy S III seems to be making some really fast progress in terms of third party support for software development for this device. Earlier, we had covered quite a few ways of rooting the device, including installation of ClockworkMod recovery as well. For those who fear flashing files via ODIN, XDA-Developers forum member mskip has just released a Samsung Galaxy S3 Toolkit, making life for inexperienced rooters who just got their hands on a brand new S3, very easy. If you thought the functionality is limited to just rooting, installing recoveries and kernels, the toolkit offers a plethora of functions ranging from installing APK files to pulling or pushing files onto the device. Read on for more information on this invaluable toolkit and how you can use it for your SGS III.

Do note that the toolkit is applicable for the GSM version of the SGS III, and not the CDMA one. Down to the features, let’s list them down:

• No need to install the drivers, the toolkit once installed, will handle all of that.
• Backup / Restore a single package or all apps, user data and internal storage.
• Backup your /data/media (virtual SD Card) to your PC for a Full Safe backup of data.
• Perform a FULL NANDROID Backup of your system via adb and save in Custom Recovery format on your PC.
• Pull /data and /system folders, compress to a .tar file and save to your PC.
• Backup/Restore your /efs partition.
• Dump selected Phone Partitions, compress to a .zip file with md5 and save to your PC.
• Install BusyBox binary on phone.
• Root any public build (different options available).
• Flash Stock Recovery or CWM Recovery.
• Flash Insecure Boot Image for adb mode.
• Install a single apk or multiple apk’s to your phone.
• Push Files from your PC to your phone.
• Pull Files from your phone to your PC.
• Set Files Permissions on your phone.
• Dump selected LogCat buffers to your PC.
• Dump BugReport to your PC (if installed).
• Help, Information Screen for various tasks.
• Reboot Phone options in adb mode.
• Change background, text color in ToolKit.

Disclaimer: Please use this software at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible in case your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to the usage of this tool.

The screenshot above displays the many features the toolkit employs, and all you have to do is select an option by entering in the relevant number and hitting Enter. There are a few functions that have not yet been offered and are in development, and those that require the device to be in download mode, have been mentioned. That’s pretty much there is to using the toolkit. Simple, eh?

For downloading Samsung Galaxy S3 Toolkit and catching up on details, queries and user feedback, proceed to the official XDA Developers Forum thread.

Read All-In-One Toolkit For Samsung Galaxy S3 GSM by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Want to back up your Android phone or tablet without having to reboot it into recovery? Better yet, want to do it without even having a custom recovery installed (as long as your phone is rooted)? You can do exactly that now, thanks to a tool that makes them for you right from Android itself, eliminating the step of rebooting into recovery. For more details and the complete method, read on.

Timely backups can save one a lot of hassle.This applies not only to your computers but also (and increasingly so) to your mobile devices. As more and more of us install custom ROMs, mods or hacks to our Android phones and tablets, the need to perform backups before making any advanced or system level modification to your device increases.

Issues With Making Backups From Recovery:

While performing full backups of your Android devices has always been a straight-forward process from a custom recovery like ClockworkMod or TWRP, it has always required you to reboot your phone into recovery itself to be able to make a backup. This means a good few minutes spent with your device being in recovery and thus effectively powered off as a usable device for you and the rest of the world, resulting in missed calls and texts, offline status on other communication apps, and no notifications of what’s going on, till the backup is complete and you boot back into Android.

Also, many people are interested in backing up their original Android ROM (including the recovery partition) as the first thing they do upon rooting, before even installing a custom recovery. So far, performing a full nandroid backup has always required a custom recovery being present on your phone, thus not enabling you to back up your original recovery in case you want to restore it later.

Introducing ondroid Online Nandroid Backup:

Thankfully, all of these issues can be avoided by using Online Nandroid Backup (also called onandroid) – a tool developed by senior XDA-Developers member Ameer Dawood (ameer1234567890).

Online Nandroid Backup was originally developed for Sony Ericsson Xperia series devices and backed up only partitions specific to those. However, with the latest upadte to version 5, the tool now supports most – if not all – devices including most phones and tablets. Let’s take a look at the partitions it can back up, for those of you who want to be sure fo the technical nitty gritty:

• /boot
• /recovery
• /system
• /data
• /cache
• /datadata
• /efs
• /sd-ext
• /wimax
• /appslog
• .android_secure folder on /sdcard

The partition structure of your phone or tablet is automatically detected by the tool and only the partitions present on your device are backed up. All backups are made to /sdcard/clockworkmod/backupdirectory in the standard nandroid backup format used by ClockworkMod and similar custom recoveries, so it can easily be restored using any recovery compatible with this standard format.

Requirements:

• Rooted Android phone or tablet.
  • In case yours isn’t rooted, see our rooting guide.
• BusyBox installed.
  • Most rooting procedures install it automatically but if you are not sure whether it is installed or not, install it using this BusyBox app.
• Online Nandroid Backup v5.3
• Android Terminal Emulator.

Installation (Recovery method):

If you already have a custom recovery installed, you can install Online Nandroid Backup just like you install any other zip file from recovery – simply downloading its zip file from the link given above, copy it to your sdcard, reboot your phone into recovery, install the zip file and reboot back into Android. You now have onandroid installed.

Installation (Manual Method):

If you don’t have a custom recovery installed yet and want to take a complete backup first before installing a recovery, or want to keep your stuck recovery for any reason, you can install Online Nandroid Backup manually by following these simple steps.

Important: Make sure to allow any SuperUser permission requests that you may get during these steps..

You basically have to extract the ‘onandroid’ file from system/bin folder of the zip file that you downloaded, copy it to /system/bin directory of your Android device and set its permissions to 755 (rwxr-xr-x) with any tool of your choice (Root Explorer, Super Manager, ES File Explorer, ADB, Terminal Emulator). We will be using Terminal Emulator since we need it later anyway.

1. Download the zip file for the tool from the link given above, and extract its contents.
2. In the folder where you extracted it, go to ‘system’, followed by ‘bin’.
3. Copy the ‘onandroid’ file and transfer it to your Android device’s sd card.
4. Install Mount /system (rw / ro) on your device and launch it.
5. Tap ‘Mount r/w’ to mount your /system partition as writable.
6. Now launch Android Terminal Emulator and enter the following commands:

   su
   cp /sdcard/onandroid /system/bin/onandroid
   chmod 0755 /system/bin/onandroid

7. You may now exit Terminal Emulator; ondroid is now installed.

Using onandroid Online Android Backup:

Ondroid is basically an executable script that performs backups from within Android. It can be run directly as a script from the command line using Android Terminal Emulator, or from third-party GUI apps that have been written to utilize this script to perform backups. The most straight-forward method that is supported by the developer of the tool as well is the direct command line method. To perform a backup:

1. Launch Android Terminal Emulator on your device.
2. Enter these commands:

   su
   onandroid

Options:

By default, the backup is automatically named based on the current UTC/GMT time and date, the way ClockworkMod recovery does it by default. You can specify command line parameters after the ‘onandroid’ command to change a few naming options. Here is a list of currently available parameters, and their functions:

• Specifying any name after the onandroid command gives that backup that name. Example:

  onandroid latest_backup

  Note: Please make sure only to use characters that are allowed in file names.

• Specifying the -h switch uses your home time zone for the backup’s name, like this:

  onandroid -h

Onandroid GUIs:

As we mentioned earlier there have been a few GUIs (graphical user interfaces) build for the onandroid tool that aim to make it easier for you to use this tool for making backups. Some of these include:

• Online Nandroid Backup
• Onandroid

Furthermore, it has been included in a couple of other multi-purpose tools that let you perform backups using this script now. These include

• XDA ROM Hub
• App Backup

Feel free to try these GUIs out and see if one of them suits you. However, please note that not all of them may be using the latest version of the script, so do make sure to read up on them before giving them a shot. The links given above will all take you to their corresponding XDA-Developers forum pages.

In conclusion, onandroid can be an indispensible tool for those of us who don’t want to reboot our phones into recovery for the process of taking backups and get cut off from the world for the few minutes our backups take (a good 15-20 minutes on many devices if you’ve got lots of apps installed). No more getting in trouble with the wife or mom for having your phone off, no more giving explanations to clients or the boss why you weren’t available when they were trying to reach you

If you come across any issues while using the tool and need help, want to request new features, report bugs or make suggestions, feel free to join the discussion at the XDA-Developers forum thread.

[via XDA-Developers]

Read Make Nandroid Backups On Android Without Booting Into Recovery by Haroon Q Raja on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

HTC One rooted! The device that currently sits on the throne of the Android world has gained root access while the hype from its announcement is still fresh. With its off-the-charts specs and prowess, root access is only going to add to the already-popular device’s appeal. If you are one of those lucky few who somehow managed to grab this device, or are planning on getting one soon, you are in luck. The rooting procedure is fairly easy, though the recoveries needed are not fully functional yet and there have been complaints regarding users failing to boot into a certain recovery. The idea is to flash a recovery, boot into it and install the SuperUser package from within. Not sure whether you should root? Our guide on the top 10 reasons to root an Android device might help you out with your decision.

To play it safe, we will be temporarily ‘booting’ the device into a recovery and installing the package, rather than permanently flashing a broken recovery to the phone. There are currently three recoveries available for the device as listed in the requirements section below.

Disclaimer: Follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be held responsible in case your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way as a result of following this method.

Requirements

• An unlocked bootloader. Visit HTCDev and select “All other supported models” as your device.
• Fastboot package and drivers for HTC One.
• Recovery images: CWM Touch | CWM | TWRP
• SuperUser package from Koush.

Instructions

1. To begin, download the fastboot package and extract the contents to a folder.
2. Download the recovery of your choice, rename it to ‘recovery.img’ and copy it to the location where fastboot.exe is.
3. Download the SuperUser zip file and copy it to the root of the phone’s storage / SD card.
4. Power the phone off, boot into fastboot mode and connect the phone to your computer. You can do so by holding down the Power button and Volume Down key at the same time and then selecting ‘Fastboot’ from the menu using the ‘Power’ button.
5. Once in fastboot mode, open command prompt on your computer, switch to the path where fastboot.exe is and enter the following command:

   fastboot boot recovery.img

6. The device should now boot into the custom recovery. Navigate to ‘install zip from sdcard’ and choose the SuperUser package to install it.
7. When installed, simply reboot the device.

That’s it! Look for the SuperUser app in the app drawer to confirm that your HTC One has been rooted. Additionally, you might want to take a look at our compilation of the top 15 must-have apps after rooting an Android device.

[via XDA-Developers]

Read How To Root HTC One M7 Using Custom Recovery by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The HTC One is becoming HTC’s biggest hit to date, and rightly so since the phone is not only amazingly beautiful to look at, but also packs quite a punch when it comes to specs and features. The device was rooted soon after getting released, and we brought you our rooting guide for the device as always, though it required you to do everything manually. If you are looking for an easier way to unlock your HTC One’s bootloader, flash ClockworkMod, TWRP or any custom recovery to it, root the device or any combination of the above, there’s now an all-in-one toolkit available to help you with the process.

HTC One M7 All-in-One Rootkit is developed by XDA Recognized Developer hasoon2000 – the same guy who brought us similar toolkits for several other popular HTC phones including One X+, Droid DNA, One X, One S, Vivid, Rezound, myTouch 4G Slide, Amaze 4G and many others.

Let’s now get the toolkit up and running, and see what we can do with it.

Setting Everything Up

Before you can start using the toolkit, you’ll have to configure a few things on both your computer and your phone.

• Enable USB debugging on your phone.
• Download the tooklit. Make sure to get the latest version, in case there are multiple files there.
• Extract the contents of the downloaded RAR file. We recommend using 7-zip for the purpose.

Unlocking the bootloader

The toolkit guides you through all the steps of unlocking your phone’s bootloader. Just start performing the steps from the top-left box one by one in that order. You’ll have to select a step, press the ‘Go’ button, follow any instructions that pop up to complete it, and move on to the next step, doing it till the process is complete.

Installing A Custom Recovery

Once you have unlocked the bootloader, you can quickly install a custom recovery using the toolkit. There is built-in support for downloading and installing the latest version of ClockworkMod (classic) or ClockworkMod Touch recovery using the top-right box. In addition, if you want to install another recovery such as TWRP, you can use the third option i.e. ‘Your Own Recovery’ and follow the instructions to flash any recovery using its .img file.

Rooting The Device

To root your device, first make sure you have unlocked the bootloader and installed a custom recovery. Next, select the ‘Perm Root’ option (the last one) from the Extras section and follow the instructions to get root access in no time.

Flash A Kernel

The Kernels section lets you flash any custom kernel to your device with ease. Just make sure the kernel you are using is meant for the HTC One, and is in boot.img format. If it is in recovery-flashable format, you’ll need to open the zip file and extract the boot.img file from it first.

Performing Other Useful Commands

The Commands section allows you to perform several other useful commands without having to do so manually. These include:

• Booting into bootloader
• Booting into recovery
• Checking CID
• Erasing Cache
• Getvar All
• Rebooting Phone
• Relocking Bootloader

In addition, the Extras section also allows you to

• ADB Sideload a ROM
• Batch-install one or more apps using their APK files
• Backup/Restore apps and their data
• Flash factory RUU zip (Complete factory reset)
• Fix Mainver error
• Make a logcat

Quite a handful, isn’t it? So if you’ve got yourself an HTC One that you want to take beyond the stock features it comes with but are afraid of doing it all manually due to the risk of messing things up, go ahead and use the toolkit as a much safer and quicker option to take full control of your device.

[via XDA-Developers]

Read HTC One M7 Toolkit: Unlock Bootloader, Install Recovery, Root & More by Haroon Q Raja on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Till just over a year back, ClockworkMod (aka CWM) was the go-to custom recovery for pretty much every mainstream Android device. Things have changed a lot since, with a newer player entering the game and gaining a lot of critical acclaim, as well as a huge user base. TeamWin Recovery Project – or TWRP for short – is a fully touch-based custom recovery that was initially developed for Nexus devices, but has since been made available for countless other smartphones and tablets as well, in form of both official and third-party builds. Just like we took you through a very detailed tour of ClockworkMod recovery and its features, we’re going to guide you through all the features of TWRP right after the jump.

In case you aren’t familiar with the concept of a custom Android recovery, we suggest you check out our ClockworkMod recovery guide (linked above) and go through the ‘About Android Recovery’ section. That said, let’s take a closer look at TWRP.

The first thing you’ll probably notice about TWRP is its GUI that looks impressively modern when it comes to a recovery environment, especially compared to that offered by ClockworkMod. You get the same basic set of features that you’d expect from any modern and full-featured custom Android recovery, all laid out in a very organized manner with large, touch-friendly buttons that make using it a breeze. Furthermore, the tablet variants are actually tablet-optimized. Here, take a look for yourself:

Installation

Installing TWRP is super-simple and if you’ve previously installed a custom recovery, you shouldn’t have any trouble doing it. Though for those who haven’t had any prior experience with custom recovery installation, we have you covered. Just head over to the guide linked below and follow the GooManager method for rooted devices or the fastboot method (for both unrooted and rooted devices with an unlocked bootloader) to get TWRP up and running on your device in no time. If neither of these methods work for you, the flash_image method should come handy, though it requires root access.

Installing a custom recovery on Android

Features

TWRP gives you access to all the features you would expect from any custom recovery, and then some. Let’s take a look at them in detail.

Interface

The interface of TWRP comprises of large buttons that make it easy to spot the feature you require at a quick glance and select it with a quick tap.  You’ll also find soft buttons for Home and Back here, along with one for the log view that shows progress of all the operations you’ve performed in recovery.

The log is normally shown automatically while any recovery operation is taking place, but goes into background when the operation is complete. By using the Log button, you can bring it up again if you missed out on anything, or needed to look up some info for troubleshooting purposes.

Install

As the name suggests, the Install option lets you install any recovery-flashable zip file to your device. This can be a ROM, a kernel, a mod, a theme, a system app – pretty much anything that’s available in the recovery-flashable zip file format.

Upon hitting Install, you’re presented with the files and folders on your phone’s storage, from which you can select the file you want to flash. With the file selected, you can either swipe the slider to confirm and start flashing the selected file, or hit the ‘Add More Zips’ button to queue up more files for flashing one after the other in a batch – a feature we haven’t come across in any other custom recovery. It will present you with a file selection screen just like the first one, letting you add up to 10 files to the flashing queue before flashing them all in the selected order. You can also clear the queue any time by tapping the ‘Clear Zip Queue’ button to start file selection from scratch.

Once the flashing process is complete, TWRP gives you some handy options for quick access to certain tasks that many users would need to perform after flashing, eliminating the extra steps required to pick them from their individual sections. These include wiping cache and dalvik cache, and rebooting the system, in addition to a Home shortcut.

Wipe

This section is dedicated to wiping all standard partitions on your Android device. By default, TWRP offers you to perform a full factory reset upon hitting Wipe, since it’s the most common form of wipe operation that most users need in recovery. This will wipe all your user data from the phone, including your installed apps, cache, and dalvik cache. This will not effect the internal or SD card storage area of your phone, meaning your documents, downloads, pictures, music, videos and other files will stay safe.

If you would rather want to wipe EVERYTHING including the aforementioned data, tap ‘Format Data’. This will wipe all your apps, backups, downloads, pictures, videos and media, and will also remove encryption on your internal storage, if you have applied it, essentially leaving nothing but the operating system itself on the device, in a complete factory state.

If you want to be more specific about the partitions you want to wipe, hit ‘Advanced Wipe’ instead. You can then select one or more common partitions to wipe specifically, leaving the rest untouched. The partitions available for wiping include system (where your operating system is stored), data, cache, Dalvik cache, and usb-otg in case of our Nexus 4, but may (or may not) include other partitions as well. Just remember – if you are unsure of whether to wipe a partition or not, NEVER touch it, especially if it’s the system partition. If you are following instructions provided somewhere, wipe only the partitions that the instructions clearly specify to wipe, and leave the rest untouched. Otherwise, you might be stuck with a device with no operating system installed, or lose all your data stored on the device.

Backup

A timely backup can save you from a lot of hassle later on in case of any data loss due to a faulty installation or an operation performed by mistake in recovery mode. That’s why all custom recoveries for Android come with a backup feature (also called NANDROID backup). TWRP’s backup section lets you take a backup of the current state of your phone, allowing you to select the partitions you want to be included in the backup, and even letting you give the backup a custom name on the go.

You are also shown your available storage space, and you can calculate if it’s enough for the backup, based on the sum of the individual partition sizes, that are shown with each partition.

Restore

This section lets you restore your phone to the state of any previously taken backup. Simply select the backup that you want to restore, optionally choose the specific partitions that you want to restore, and swipe the slider to begin the restore process.

Do remember that restoring a backup will essentially wipe the current state of your phone, meaning any changes made after that backup will be lost. However, your internal or SD card storage will remain untouched, and any files that you may have added there after the last backup will still be there.

Mount

Most casual users will never really need this section, but for power users, this can be immensely useful. Here, you can mount or unmount several key partitions of your device, in order to access them over ADB (or certain areas of the recovery, as we’ll see later.) You can also see the amount of free internal storage available on your device here.

Settings

TWRP lets you tweak a few recovery-specific settings, such as toggling signature verification for the zip files you flash, using the rm -rf command for wiping instead of the format command, wherever applicable, skipping MD5 generation during backup, enabling MD5 verification of backup files, using military-style time for the clock display, and a simulation mode in which you can test out recovery operations without actually performing them, which is super-useful for those creating custom TWRP themes, in testing them out to ensure they apply properly to all areas of the recovery.

The Time Zone option lets you specify your own time zone for the time display in recovery mode, by choosing it from a list of all global time zones, and optionally specifying any offset if required.

To keep things secure, TWRP also comes with a lock screen that activates automatically after a predefined screen timeout period, and can be unlocked with a swipe similar to the unlock gesture on the iPhone, as you can see in the screenshot above. This option can be toggled from the Screen section.

Advanced

In the Advanced section, you’ll find some further features that many users might not require. You can copy the recovery’s log to SD card for accessing it later, which can be useful for debugging purposes. You can also fix file permissions, which can help if things aren’t working properly due to improperly set permissions for important files. There’s also a Reload Theme option that is useful for those developing a custom theme for TWRP.

The ADB Sideload mode is also accessible from here, which essentially allows you to put your phone into a mode where files can be flashed to it from a computer using the ADB sideload command. This mode shouldn’t generally be required by anyone who doesn’t already know how it works, and those unfamiliar with it don’t really need to worry about it. For those who are going to use it, the Wipe Cache and Wipe Dalvik Cache options can come handy to ensure that both these cache partitions are wiped after the ADB sideloading process completes.

There are two more options here – Terminal Command and File Manager. These (especially the File Manager) deserve a section of their own, so let’s now take a look at them.

File Manager

Not many custom recoveries come with a built-in file manager, but TWRP has taken things one step further by adding one to the mix. Once you launch it from the Advanced menu, you are shown the file or folder selection screen. Simply navigate to the file or folder you want to manage, and hit the ‘Select’ button. For conveniently locating the required file or folder, you can use the sorting options.

Once a file or folder has been selected, you can then copy or move it to another location, set its permissions to rw-r—r– (755) by using the ‘chmod 755’ button, or to any other permissions you want by using the ‘chmod’ button, delete the item, or rename it. These options can come incredibly handy when attempting to fix things from recovery in case of any issues that have made the phone inaccessible in normal Android mode. However, use these only when you are sure of what you are doing, and don’t mess around with any files that you don’t know much about, or else you might end up harming your OS.

Terminal Command

The Terminal Command mode found in the Advanced menu lets you run a batch file that contains Terminal commands that you want to execute. These files usually have a .sh extension, and if you are unsure about this mode, just let it be, as you won’t exactly need it in that case. For those advanced users who do need to run such a file, TWRP offers the same file selection interface in this section that’s featured in the other parts of the recovery, as we’ve seen above. Simply select the file and you’ll be able to run it right from recovery.

Reboot

This menu provides you with handy options of rebooting your device directly into specific modes right from recovery. The options available include System (normal Android mode), Recovery, and Bootloader (fastboot mode). In addition, you can also directly power your device off from here.

Final Words

TWRP is nothing short of a breakthrough when it comes to Android recoveries. It provides the most impressive user interface we’ve seen in recovery mode, making it a very easy-to-navigate GUI – a major jump from the traditional menu-based boring and complicated recovery interface found in most other recoveries including ClockworkMod. And the interface is just the icing on the cake; the several handy features offered by TWRP that are nowhere to be found in other custom recoveries make it THE best custom recovery currently available for Android, period! It also allows users to theme it to their liking by editing an XML file, and fully conforms to the OpenRecovery standard for its recovery operations, rather than going for its own non-standard ways. This standards-compliance makes it compatible with the excellent GooManager app for scheduling flashing of files without leaving the Android environment.

TWRP has replaced ClockworkMod on all our devices here at AddictiveTips, and we have no hesitation in recommending it to any Android user looking for a custom recovery for their device.

Visit TWRP Website

Read What Is TWRP Recovery & How To Install & Use It On Android Devices [Guide] by Haroon Q Raja on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

One of the really spectacular things about Android is that users can flash all sorts of custom ROMs, kernels, themes and mods on it through its recovery environment. Don’t like the stock ROM? Fret not! You can always flash CyanagenMod, MIUI, AOKP or Paranoid Android instead. Don’t fancy that ugly Samsung Touchwiz? We neither, so grab a flashable theme and get rid it. Even if you don’t use recovery for flashing anything, it still has other uses like backing up and restoring a complete image of your phone.  When it comes to flashing anything on Android, ClockworkMod Recovey is perhaps the first to come to mind because not even a couple of years ago, it was the sole mainstream custom recovery available for most Android devices. But things have changed quite a bit since then, with TWRP  (short for TeamWin Recovery Project) fast becoming the custom recovery of choice for many. Like ClockworkMod has ROM Manager that lets you schedule recovery operations from within Android that are to be performed automatically in recovery later, TWRP users now have TWRP Manager that does the same for devices running TWRP recovery. And what’s more – it boasts an interface identical to that of TWRP itself too!

Needless to say, you will need TWRP installed on your device before you can use TWRP Manager. If you don’t have it already, our TWRP guide (linked above) should help. Next, install the app from the link provided at the end of this post, and you should be good to go.

The app allows you to schedule recovery functions without entering TWRP recovery environment by using OpenRecoveryScript. These include all the supported functions of a normal recovery environment such as flashing ROMs, wiping data, creating or restoring backups and so on. The interface looks exactly the same as the original TWRP. The home screen houses eight different touch-friendly buttons labeled Install, Wipe, Backup, Restore, Mount, Settings, Advanced and Reboot. To execute an action, simply tap its button from the home screen, followed by swiping the slider to confirm. For instance, if you want to wipe data, select it from the main screen, choose the type of wipe by marking the available options, and swipe the slider.

Whenever an action is initiated, your device automatically reboots into recovery, completes the pertaining action and restarts itself back in Android. You can also create and restore backups in the same way. For that, TWRP Manager asks you to mark the partitions you want to back up from boot, cache, data, recovery, system and Android Secure, as well as choose options for the backup such as compression and MD5 generation. Lastly, you can also select the location for your backup between internal or external storage. The Reboot menu allows users to reboot to system (Android), recovery or bootloader, or simply power off  the device.

The app is still in its early alpha release thus have many missing functions, and contains errors and bugs. For instance, the integrated backup to Dropbox feature is not yet implemented. So are the available options under the Settings screen. Likewise, the mount feature is also yet to be fully implemented into this app.

TWRP Manager is available at Google Play Store for free. Testing of the app was carried out on Android 4.2.2.

Install  TWRP Manager from Google Play

Read TWRP Manager App Released For TeamWin Custom Android Recovery by Waqas Ahmed on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Flashing a custom recovery on your Android device, such as ClockworkMod or TWRP, doesn’t take much time if you’ve got all the required tools at hand and a little bit of spare time. However, the process can be quite cumbersome to new Android users who aren’t familiar with technical Android terms, ADB commands and/or the procedure to flash recovery image via fastboot. Thanks to XDA-developers forum member DsLNeXuS, we have a nifty little Android app that makes flashing a custom recovery on your device a one-click-process. Recovery Tools allows flashing a custom recovery without even rebooting the device or using any ADB command. Why would you need it when it can be done using ROM Manager or GooManager, you ask? With this application, you can flash both ClockworkMod Recovery and TWRP (one at a time, of course), though the available options may vary from device to device. Recovery Tools already supports a wide-array of Android phones and tablets, and comprises of a very minimal and intuitive design. Details to follow after the jump.

The application only works on rooted Android devices. Everything is entirely done within the app; no rebooting into bootloader or using ADB/fastboot commands required. A major benefit it offers is that if you have CWM installed and need to switch to TWRP for something, you can simply use the app to quickly flash TWRP and the next thing you know, you’ll be booting into TWRP! It works equally well the other way round too.

To get started, download the app from Google Play Store (link provided at the end). As mention earlier, the application requires root access so make sure you grant it the required root permissions when prompted. The app look very simple and sports a clean design. On its interface, you will find two buttons: ‘Flash ClockworkMod Recovery’ and ‘Flash TWRP Recovery’. It should be noted that only one custom recovery can be installed at a time. All you have to do is tap the button for your desired recovery. Recovery Tools also displays your’ device’s model at the bottom, along with the recovery’s path on your file system. For the technical ones among us, the app uses dd to directly write the recovery image to the partition.

If the required recovery IMG file isn’t already present on your device at the appropriate path, the app automatically downloads it for you. Just tap the Yes button when it asks you for download. Once downloaded, the recovery is flashed and no further input is required from the user. After successfully flashing the recovery, Recovery Tools also prompts whether you’d like to reboot to your new recovery. You can either cancel it or tap Yes to reboot to the recovery that you just installed.

Recovery Tools is an open-source app and you can grab its source code from Github. It’s available on Google Play Store for free, so grab it in order to be able to easily flash and switch between CWM and TWRP at will without any complicated procedure.

Install Recovery Tools from Play Store

[via XDA-Developers]

Read One-Click Install CWM Or TWRP Without A Reboot Using Recovery Tools by Waqas Ahmed on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Earlier on, we covered a guide detailing how to root the new Nexus 7 and the older Nexus devices – barring the Nexus S and Nexus One – on Android 4.3. If you’ve owned a Nexus device, you probably know how the bootloader unlock and rooting process is pretty much the same across the board. While there are plenty of toolkits available for every Nexus device out there, Wug’s Nexus Root Toolkit would be the first one that serves the new Nexus 7, complete with bootloader unlocking, one-click root and recovery flash, and more. Make no mistake, the toolkit has been around for a while, catering to Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, older Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, but it has just recently been updated to include support for the latest Nexus 7 as well.

A few days back, we covered a Linux-based Nexus toolkit that supported most of the Nexus devices, but not the new Nexus 7. This one, however, is Windows-based and supports all Nexus devices.

Using the tool kit is fairly simple. You will be prompted to download all the required files that might be needed, depending on the device you select as well as the build you’re currently running.

Next up, you need to enable ‘USB Debugging’ on your device. Assuming you’re on Android 4.2 or higher, follow the instructions as laid out in the screenshot above. New to Jelly Bean or for that matter Android? See our quick guide on enabling USB Debugging on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The toolkit includes a full guide for manually installing the driver, though you can have the toolkit install it automatically for your device as well. The basic interface of the toolkit gives you options such as unlocking, rooting (with or without flashing a custom recovery), flashing to the stock factory image, and even identifying if the device is soft-bricked or in a bootloop. Backup and restore functions have also been provided so you can keep your data safe before attempting anything here.

Hit the advanced button and you’ll be able to pull or push files, install APKs, perform ADB functions, temporarily boot into a custom recovery, flash a stock recovery or kernel etc. Not sure what a particular function will actually do? The toolkit has dynamic tooltips as well, so hover over a button for a better explanation of the said function.

With a robust ‘Settings’ menu, you can play around with what recovery is installed to your device, set file associations for APK files, tinker with update settings and more. You can grab the recovery for free from one of the following download links. For updates and queries, head over to the forum thread at XDA-Developers linked below.

Download Wug’s Nexus Root Toolkit | Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

[via XDA-Developers]

Read Root, Unroot & Unlock Nexus 7 (2013) & All Other Nexus Devices With Wug’s Toolkit by Zayed Rehman on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

If you’ve installed ClockworkMod recovery on your Android device and have been into the custom ROM scene, you’re probably familiar with ROM Manager – the GUI app that lets you schedule all recovery operations such as ROM or recovery installation, backup creation, wiping data and cache etc. from within Android so that you don’t have to use the recovery’s interface for them (the operations are still performed in the recovery mode). There’s also GOOManager that makes the same possible with TWRP recovery. While both these apps work great, they both have room for improvement, both in terms of the variety of resources they offer, as well as the quality of their presentation. XDA-Developers Member jrummy has now provided us with an alternative by the name of ROM Installer that does just that, and does it brilliantly. Just like with ROM Manager and GOOManager, the operations will actually be performed in recovery, but you won’t have to do anything while in recovery mode. In what follows, we will take an in-depth look at this app and all its features.

Disclaimer: This app uses root access to schedule advanced operations that are then performed in recovery. These operations involve modifying your operating system, and even wiping your storage. Use it to install ROMs and perform wipes only if you know what you are doing. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked in the process.

ROM Installer’s interface looks just great. Needless to say, the app requires root access to be able to perform these advanced operations, and asks for Superuser permissions when launched for the first time. It then takes you to its home page and starts loading all the ROMs, recoveries and mods available for your device from various reputed resources. In the featured section, you’ll see popular names like AOKP, Carbon, CyanogenMod, MIUI and Paranoid Android, with other options right below under ROMs. In addition to ROMs, you can also find several flashable mods, add-ons and kernels via the links provided under the Extras, Goo Developers and Community labels by scrolling down. To access all the different sections of the app, tap the ROM Installer button at the top-left or swipe in from the left edge to reveal the app’s navigation drawer.

For any ROM or mod you select, you’ll be shown its relevant info including screenshots, views, favorites, comments, a description and all relevant downloads, with the latest stable ones being listed on top. Tapping any available download will further let you download it to your device, or view its details.

In the details of any download, you’ll be able to view its source URL, upload date, MD5 checksum, number of times it has been downloaded, and links to its available add-ons (if any). If you choose to download a ROM, you’ll also be offered to optionally download a compatible Google Apps package and it will be installed with the ROM. You can also skip it altogether or do it later if you want. The app will then connect to the server and start downloading your selected ROM and any GApps package you’ve chosen.

In the Backup & Restore section, you’ll see all backups that have been made from your device from a recovery such as TWRP or ClockworkMod. Tap a backup and you’ll be able to restore, rename or delete it, view its properties, or extract the backup files for any manual manipulation. You can also use the Advanced Restore function (if available in your recovery) to selectively restore the partitions you want.

The Flash Recovery section lets you browse and flash popular recoveries for your device directly without having to use fastboot or flash_image commands for the purpose. The app also conveniently shows the latest versions of popular recoveries such as TWRP and ClockworkMod on top, with all other available versions listed below in reverse chronological order in separate sections for each recovery.

There’s also a ROM Installer section that lets you select and queue multiple zip files of ROMs, GApps, mods etc. to flash. Just tap Add Zip, browse to the location of the zip file that you want to flash, repeat the process for any other zip files if required, select the recovery that you have installed (if it doesn’t get detected automatically), and tap ‘OK’ to reboot the phone and start the flashing process.

ROM Installer can also be configured to automatically check for updates to your currently installed ROM at an interval of your choice. Just go to the ROM Updates section and select a schedule as well as time of your choice to check for updates. The schedule may vary from hourly up to weekly basis and if an update is found, the app shows a notification for it, tapping which starts downloading it automatically.

From the app’s menu, you can quickly access some of its features. You can install a ROM from its zip file stored on your SD card (you’ll be taken to the ROM Installer section after picking the file), or create a new backup with a name of your choice.

From the same menu, you can access the Downloads section, where you’ll be able to view and manage all currently downloading ROMs or mods that you’ve started in ROM Installer. Tapping any ongoing download will let you cancel it, while tapping a finished one will take you to its installation process. Another handy option in this menu lets you wipe data, cache, dalvik cache and battery stats. Throughout the app, any operation you select will show you a confirmation prompt before it reboots into recovery to perform it.

There’s also a power menu that allows you to quickly perform several types of reboots including normal and fast system reboots, reboot into recovery or bootloader, restarting system UI, and powering off. Lastly, the app’s settings let you specify a download path of your choice, manually download a zip file by specifying its direct URL, select the recovery that you currently have installed (in case it isn’t automatically detected by the app), toggle quick backup and restore modes (availability depends on your recovery), enable the automatic update detection feature and set it to perform at each boot, add GOOManager to your Launcher, and set a user-defined device name in case yours isn’t getting detected automatically or you just want to explore the downloads available for some other devices (though make sure not to flash anything meant for another device, unless you’re sure it’s fully compatible with yours.)

In a nutshell, ROM Installer offers everything you’d ever need for scheduling all your recovery operations from Android, and it is far superior to ROM Manager, GOOManager or any other similar app. It has already replaced the former apps on my device, and I’m sure it’ll find a permanent home on the devices of many others as well. You can install it for free from the link provided below, and visit the XDA thread linked at the end to follow its development.

Install ROM Installer from Play Store

[via XDA-Developers]

Read ROM Installer: Easily Find & Install Android ROMs & Recoveries, Perform Backups & More by Haroon Q Raja on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

A lot of Android enthusiasts use custom recoveries such as TWRP and ClockworkMod for flashing ROMs and mods, taking and restoring full device backups, and even managing their files using the full-featured AROMA file manager. And while most users wouldn’t really need to take screenshots in recovery mode, us bloggers, developers of custom recoveries and AROMA-based apps, as well as designers of recovery themes need this functionality often to showcase what they’re reviewing or working on. In what follows, we will guide you through the process of easily taking screenshots of your Android device while it is booted in recovery mode, regardless of what custom recovery it’s running.

Unlike when you’re booted into Android normally, the standard Volume Down + Power button combination doesn’t work for snapping a screenshot in recovery. Previously, Android SDK’s DDMS tool used to work just fine for the purpose, but that’s no longer been the case since the past few updates.

The only working solution that I’ve been aware of so far was to manually grab the raw framebuffer data and then process it using the ffmpeg command-line tool to get the required image. However, there’s a serious caveat with this solution: it isn’t a single, universal command for all Android devices, because different devices and recoveries use different pixel formats for their framebuffer, and the command also needs be tweaked to factor the device’s native resolution and a stride factor in the raw image. I have personally been through the nightmare of spending hours trying to figure out these parameters for some of my devices when writing some of my guides involving recovery screenshots.

What we’re about to see is an awesome little tool by XDA Member makers_mark that gets the job done for you while keeping all such complications in the background.

Meet Recovery Screenshot

Recovery Screenshot is a script (only available for Windows as of this writing) that utilizes ADB and ffmpeg to pull the raw framebuffer from your device and then process it accordingly to present you with the screenshot in PNG format.

Before you can start snapping recovery screenshots, you must configure the tool for your device. So, let’s get started.

Settings Things Up

Before you proceed, make sure you’ve rebooted your device into recovery mode, connected it to your computer via a USB cable, and installed the necessary drivers for it.

Download Recovery Screenshot and extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP file to any convenient location on your computer. Next, launch the tool using the RUNrs.bat file in the folder. The script will present you with the following options:

Select the first option, i.e. make a configurations setting by pressing 1. You will then be asked for your device’s screen dimensions in pixels. Make sure you enter the shorter dimension as width and the longer one as height.

Recovery Screenshot will then pull the framebuffer from your device, process it in several pixel formats with ffmpeg, and put the processed PNG files into a ‘Pixel_formats’ folder inside the folder where you extracted the tool.

Now go to the Pixel_formats folder and check out all those images. You’ll notice that most of them look funny, which is perfectly normal; they were processed using a pixel format different from that of your device. What you need to look for here is the image that looks right, note its name (which is the name of its pixel format), and press any key to continue.

If you’ve found the correct image in the folder, go ahead and press 1 to finalize your settings. If you didn’t get lucky this time though, just hit 2 and the tool will try out even more, less commonly used formats. In that case, look again in the same folder for the dozens of new images added there, and make a note of its name when you find the correct one.

After you’ve found the correct pixel format, enter it on the next screen exactly as you see it in the name of the correct file (without the .PNG extension). For example, in our testing using the Nexus 5, the correct image was rgb0.png and hence the correct pixel format was rgb0.

After you input the correct pixel format for your device and hit Enter, you’re done with the configuration – it’s now time to start snapping those recovery screenshots. Your settings are saved and you will no longer need to configure the script for the same device when launching it again.

Capturing Screenshots in Recovery

After the initial configuration is complete, you’re given the following options whenever you launch the tool.

What might seem confusing here would be the presence of three options for grabbing the framebuffer. Explaining how Android’s double framebuffer system works is beyond the scope of this guide, and the image you’re looking for could be in either of the framebuffers, so it’ll be a good idea to go for the third option each time, i.e. getting both framebuffers. Just hit 3, and Recovery Screenshot will start pulling and processing both the framebuffers for you.

The resulting processed image files will be placed in a subfolder inside the script’s main folder, and given a name based on the current date. The images inside will be named based on the current time, as well as the framebuffer (upper or lower).

Note that when you try to capture a different device’s screenshots, you might need to configure the tool again. To do that, just hit 4 on its main screen to reset your settings and start over. The fifth option i.e. the manual mode doesn’t involve having a device connected in recovery mode, and can be used to manually specify your settings and process any raw image file as source.

A Few Results

Here are a few screenshots captured in recovery mode using the script. The first one is TWRP recovery’s home screen, the second one shows flashing progress, while the third one is the AROMA File Manager.

Again, while it isn’t for everyone since casual users and even most power users will never need to capture recovery screenshots, Recovery Screenshot can prove to be a lifesavers for people like me who previously had to go through the hassle of manually pulling framebuffers and processing raw images with ffmpeg commands each time we needed to review a custom recovery or AROMA script.

Download Recovery Screenshot from XDA-Developers

Read How To Take Screenshots In Recovery & AROMA On Android by Haroon Q Raja on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus do not have a headphone jack. This is possibly the most disturbing change made to the iPhone in terms of hardware. People are so upset with the change they haven’t given much thought to home button on the new sets. It is no longer a mechanical button you can press. You now tap it instead of pressing it. This hardware change doesn’t call for buying any new accessories and it’s fairly easy to get used to. That said, try entering recovery mode on your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus and you’ll find you can’t use the long standing method to do so because the Home button cannot be pressed. Here’s how to enter recovery mode on your iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

To enter recovery mode follow these steps;

1. Open iTunes on your PC or Mac
2. Connect your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus to your PC or Mac via the lightning cable it comes with
3. Hold down the Power/Lock button and the Volume Down button at the same time
4. The Apple logo will appear on your screen. Do not release the buttons
5. Keep both the Home button and the Volume Down button pressed until the Apple logo disappears and is replaced with an image indicating the lightning cable connecting with iTunes.
6. You are now in Recovery mode. iTunes will also show you a prompt on your Mac or PC when you have successfully entered recovery mode.

It’s possible all iPhones that are manufactured in the foreseeable future i.e. next two years, will have the same Home button so this method will work for upcoming handsets.

If you’re using an iPhone for the first time and it’s the iPhone 7 you won’t need to enter recovery mode. Anyone upgrading from an older iPhone to iPhone 7 will definitely need to enter recovery mode to restore the phone from a back-up. Given the iPhone 7 and 7 plus sales figures, this means a lot of people. Happy upgrading.

Read How To Enter Recovery Mode On Your iPhone 7 And 7 Plus by Fatima Wahab on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

The Ubuntu operating system  comes with  a “recovery mode.” With this feature, users can access the command-line of a broken system, fix a misconfigured file, test if system memory isn’t working, and a lot more. Although “recovery mode” exists, a lot of Ubuntu Linux users are unfamiliar with how it works, and what they can do with it. So, in this guide, we’ll walk you through how to use recovery mode on Ubuntu.

Note: to access the recovery mode on Ubuntu Linux, you must be running the Grub bootloader. If you’re using an alternative bootloader, there’s a chance this feature will not be accessible for you.

Recovery mode on Linux

Recovery mode is an option in the Grub boot-loader. So, to access it, reboot your Linux PC. The process of restarting on Ubuntu is quickly done in many different ways, including clicking the “Reboot” option on your desktop, pressing the hard-reset button on the PC itself, or using the reboot or systemctl reboot commands in a terminal window.

sudo reboot

Or, if your operating system disallows the ability to access reboot, run:

sudo systemctl reboot

When your Ubuntu PC restarts, the Grub bootloader will appear on screen, with several options. On a majority of Linux operating systems, you’ll see quite a few entries. These entries include:

• The latest release of the Ubuntu Linux kernel for your OS (default entry)
• Advanced booting options for your Linux OS (often called Advanced options for Ubuntu)
• Memory test (memtest86+)
• Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)

Look through the selection menu for the “Advanced options” entry. Then, once you’ve located it, use the Down Arrow to move the selection to it. Then, press Enter to access the “Advanced options” sub-menu in the Grub bootloader.

Inside of the “Advanced options” sub-menu, a couple of options will appear on the list. At the top of it, the last kernel that your operating system was using before it was updated to the one you’re using now will be there (though not every Linux OS does this). Following the fall-back kernel, there is a “recovery” kernel.

The “recovery” kernel is a normal Linux kernel, with a minor Grub tweak that allows users to quickly boot into “Recovery mode” on their system, so that they may access the command-line to fix something, and recover a broken system.

To load up the “recovery” kernel through Grub, press the Down Arrow and move the Grub selector to the top of it. After that, hit the Enter key to force the system to load it up.

Once you’ve chosen the “recovery” kernel in the Grub menu, you’ll see a window labeled “Recovery Menu.” In this menu, there are several tools and options that you’ll have access to.

For information on how to use each of these recovery options, follow along below.

Recovery Mode – Clean

The “Clean” feature in Recovery Mode for Ubuntu will allow you to free up space on your system partition quickly.

To use the “Clean” feature, load up Recovery Mode. Then, use the Down Arrow to highlight the “clean” option and press Enter.

After pressing the Enter key on “clean,” a terminal window will appear. Follow the instructions on screen, and Ubuntu will do it’s best to make some free space.

Recovery Mode – Dpkg

The “Dpkg” option available to Ubuntu users in Recovery Mode allows for the ability to fix and uninstall any potentially broken packages that are causing problems on your system.

Note: this feature requires internet connectivity. Select “Network”  in the Recovery Mode list to get online before attempting to use it.

To use it look, through the Recovery Mode list for “Dpkg” using the Down Arrow. Then, press Enter to start it up. Read the on-screen prompts and allow Ubuntu to purge any problematic packages.

Recovery Mode – Fsck

The Fsck feature in Recovery Mode can quickly fix a corrupted hard drive by scanning it for dirty bytes and removing them. This feature is very useful, as dirty bytes on drives can cause Ubuntu to fail to load.

To use the “Fsck,” highlight it in the Recovery Mode menu using Down Arrow, then press Enter to start it up. After that, sit back and let it remove corrupted data, automatically.

Recovery Mode – Grub

“Grub” in the Recovery Mode window lets Ubuntu scan your system and update the bootloader automatically, by re-setting the Grub system.

To run a bootloader update, find “Grub” in the menu and select it with the Down Arrow. Press the Enter key to start the update.

Recovery Mode – Root

Sometimes, your Ubuntu Linux system may refuse to boot, due to a misconfiguration, system error, etc. If the other recovery options we talked about don’t do it, the “Root” one will.

To gain Root access through Recovery Mode, you won’t need to remember the password. Instead, select “Root,” with Down Arrow, followed by Enter, then Enter a second time.

Read How to use recovery mode on Ubuntu by Derrik Diener on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter