HTC Droid Incredible (inc) ROM List

*Flash your device at your own risk*

'(03/17/2013) [SS] P.A.C.Man (4.2.2) +

'(02/15/2013) [SS] Touch of Blue V3.0 (4.08)

'(02/12/2013) [SS] Jellybean RC4 (4.2.x)

'(02/10/2013) [SS] Stock rooted OTA 4.08.605.19 710RD +

'(02/09/2013) [SS] Sparkplug V1.4.4 (4.08)

'(01/04/2013) [SS] Tiny's CM10 Inc builds (4.1.2)

'(01/04/2013) [SS] Tiny's CM10.1 Inc builds (4.2.1)

'(12/18/2012) [SS] Evervolv 3.2.0 (4.2.1)

*All source links are from xda-developers forum*

_{ROMS THAT WERE RELEASED BEFORE DECEMBER WON’T BE LISTED}

4.08 – 2.3.4

3.06 – 2.3.5 | S3.0 (DHD)

Permalink: http://goo.gl/Lb9aF

codename: inc model number: ADR6300 views: 83,898

Virtual SD card on Android

Since Android Honeycomb, Google changed the way to manage internal memory on Android devices. Before Honeycomb, every user had one separate partition on his device called userdata (/data), where he could install applications and where all user settings were stored (home screens, applications data, contacts, and all the rest you loose after doing so called "full wipe" on your device). Apart of userdata partition, all Android devices had microSD card slot to save pictures, movies, backups etc.. Now it looks completely different, but let's start from the beginning. There are several approaches to this subject, I'll present here all those I am aware of.

• userdata partition + microSD card

This is the mentioned above pre-Honeycomb approach. There is userdata partition, where you can install all your applications and you also have a possibility to insert microSD card. Nothing more to explain. Only devices running Android Gingerbread and older versions have such configuration, so it's getting less and less popular.

• userdata partition + virtual SD card on userdata partition

This is the new approach presented for the first time in Honeycomb. Instead of having /data partition together with expandable microSD card slot of any capacity, Google decided for something different. Instead, /data partition became very large (16/32/64 GB) and inside you can find /data/media folder that contains all the files you can see as your SD card content. How does it work? Without too much technical explanations, there is so called fuse tool which emulates media folder inside userdata partition as a separate storage device. As a result, after connecting smartphone to the PC you can browse the content of /data/media location, so if it was a microSD card. The biggest downside of such approach is a high risk of loosing all your virtual SD card content in case of any serious /data partition failure. Also, such partition can't be formatted with mkfs.ext4 without loosing content of virtual SD card, because you can't format device partition just partially. You can use e2fsck tool to check for potential errors, but sometimes partition format is the only way out. How does "full wipe" work then? Well, it's a little bit complicated. First of all, you can't format mounted (in use) partition. You need to unmount it first. Once unmounted userdata partition, you can't flash any ZIP file from inside recovery, because ZIPs files are stored on virtual SD card (/data/media) and remember that userdata partition is currently unmounted, because we want to format it. There is a workaround for it - you can run mkfs.ext4 from inside /cache partition or you can use command prompt. Now, what if you need to remove the whole content of your userdata partition, but you want to keep virtual SD card content at the same time? There is a workaround for this as well, but instead of formatting entire partition, you need to remove all files excluding /data/media location. Example:

#!/tmp/bash
# Remove content of /data partition excluding data/media files
cd /data
FILES=(*)
for i in *; do
if [ "$i" != "media" ]
then rm -R "$i"
fi
done

This way you can sort of wipe userdata, but it doesn't format the partition, so you can't fix broken file-system with it.  Why this point is the longest one? Because it took me quite a few words to explain the relation between virtual SD card and media folder on userdata partition (/data/media). So basically, what you read here applies to every configuration with virtual SD card emulated on userdata partition.

• userdata partition + virtual SD card on a separate partition

This approach is not very popular, and it's a shame because it seems to be much more practical rather than the previous one. Instead of emulating SD card from userdata partition, there is a separate, large partition with vFAT file-system. That means you can format your userdata partition anytime you want without loosing content of your virtual SD card, or from inside custom ROM, because userdata can be freely unmounted. The only device I've seen so far with this approach was HTC One X.

• userdata partition + virtual SD card on userdata partition + microSD card

This seems to be the most desirable solution for many Android users. It works similar to approach described in the second point, so everything I wrote about /data/media is valid here as well. However, every user have the ability to insert extra microSD card inside his device, so he can easily backup virtual SD card to microSD card or format userdata partition without loosing all pictures etc. (if previously stored on microSD card). This is the most common configuration for Samsung devices. But having removable microSD card is not only an advantage. First of all, any kind of microSD card (even SDHC) will be always slower than internal eMMC memory. It depends on many factors like card speed (class 2, 4, 6, 8 or even 10), on-board controller, I/O scheduler and more. Secondly, microSD card damage risk is higher then damage risk of internal eMMC memory. Out of question is the benefit to expand the memory with 64 GB microSD card, but it's definitely the minority of power users, who are buying large capacity cards. For the vast majority of users, internal memory with 32 GB capacity is more then enough to store their favorite music or pictures.

• userdata partition + virtual SD card on a separate partition + microSD card

This approach is theoretically possible, but personally I've never seen device with such combination. For me, this is the best combination. You have possibility to use external microSD card and virtual SD card is not a part of userdata partition, but it has it's own, separate vFat partition. Such configuration gives you control over all your data and possibility to manage it however you want.

Do you have any questions or want to share some opinion? Please leave a comment below! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) down this post!

Removable battery - do we really need it?

With every release of a new smartphone the same question is asked - will it have removable battery? If you believe that removable batteries are a "must have" nowadays, please keep reading. I hope you'll change your mind!

First of all - there is a solution. Battery banks seems to be a great alternative for removable batteries. You can check my review of HTC Battery Bank here. It works with every device equipped with micro-USB port. Now let's compare both solutions.

Capacity

Samsung Galaxy S3 has a removable battery with capacity of 2100mAh. Typical battery bank has a capacity of 6000mAh. This means, that Galaxy S3 can be charged almost 3 times with such battery bank! If you are going to use your smartphone heavily the whole day, only one backup battery might be not enough for you. With battery bank you can start your day with more then 8000mAh on board (battery inside device + battery bank).

Conclusion: 2300mAh vs. 6000mAh

Winner: battery bank

Size

Typical smartphone battery dimensions are around 6,3 x 5,0 x 0,5. Battery bank I was tested is of course bigger - 9,7 x 4,2 x 2,2. Is it really a disadvantage? I don't think so. It's small enough to be inserted into a pocket of your jeans or jacket. I think there are even smaller battery banks available on the market, so the size shouldn't be a problem here. Also, removable batteries are indeed smaller, but keep in mind their capacity is twice/triply lower.

Conclusion: 6,3 x 5,0 x 0,5 vs 9,7 x 4,2 x 2,2

Winner: removable battery

Charging

Battery bank can be charged regardless of device battery. It has its own USB cable and charging port, so you can charge both devices -  smartphone and battery bank at the same time. What about removable batteries? Well, if you don't have a removable battery charger (which costs extra money of course!) you will have to charge battery inside your device first, then switch batteries and charge the backup battery. The risk of braking battery cover latches is quite big, especially when it comes to plastic, which has its own lifetime and bending abilities. It seems that battery bank in this case is much more convenient and comfortable.

Conclusion: charging inside the device vs. independent charging

Winner: battery bank

Price

Original backup battery price is about $30. Yes, I know you can find non-original replacements for $10 as well, but let's compare only original parts. Typical battery bank costs is around $40 - $80 ($75 for HTC Battery Bank). However these prices vary from place to place and may be slightly different in your country, keep that in mind. Comparing 1:1 it's easy to see that external batteries are indeed cheaper. But to make the comparison fair, we need to establish the price/capacity relationship. 1mAh from 2300mAh backup battery ($30) is a cost of about $0,0130, while 1mAh from 6000mAh battery bank ($75) costs about $0,0125.

Conclusion: $0,0130 vs. $0,0125

Winner: battery bank

Design

When speaking about the design I mostly think about device design. However, battery banks looks definitely better and more aesthetic than regular removable batteries. Having a removable battery back cover doesn't allow uni-body construction, like HTC One has. Design is a matter of taste, but personally I prefer uni-body construction over having a plastic back cover. But again - it's a matter of taste, so no winner here.

Conclusion: plastic back cover vs. uni-body construction

Winner: draw

Usability

Practical approach is also important. Driving a car or sitting in a crowded bus might be a situation when your device is out of power. Now imagine you need to: 1) take out your battery backup, 2) turn off the device, 3) remove the back cover, 4) replace the battery, 5) close the back cover, 6) turn on the device, 7) hide your primary battery. So... 7 steps including the inevitability of turning off the device. With battery bank you just need to take it out and plug into the device. That's it. No need to turn on/off or disassemble your device. Keep in mind that battery bank doesn't work only as external battery, it is mainly a battery charger, so after some time you can hide it back.

Conclusion: 7 steps to change battery vs. take out and plug in

Winner: battery bank

Compatibility

External batteries are not compatible between devices. You can't use Samsung Galaxy Note II battery in Samsung Galaxy S3. You can't use HTC Sensation battery in HTC One S. If you buy backup battery for your particular device, you'll probably sell it together with the device or give it as free bonus one day. Battery bank is compatible with every device equipped with micro-USB port and can be your life-companion for years. However, you should be aware that battery bank might not be able to charge your tablet.

Conclusion: lack of compatibility with other devices vs. compatibility with all micro-USB smartphones

Winner: battery bank

Device lifetime (added 23-03-2013)
Due to many comments under this article I decided to agree with one point that was very often mentioned by users preferring removable battery. However, I think it needs some bigger explanation. It is a fact, that having non removable battery results in lack of possibility to exchange it for new one, once the old battery can't give your device enough power anymore. But is it really a problem? I took the warranty statements from my HTC One X+ and I found nothing about limited warranty for battery (like Samsung have - only 6 months). This means, that once battery is non removable, it doesn't have shorter warranty. So in my case battery is under 24-months warranty service. I think that is a positive aspect for the consumer, right? In some cases it might be also 12-months, but it depends on particular law regulations in each country.

Conclusion: removable battery with 6-months warranty vs. non-removable battery with 12/24-months warranty - both solutions have some advantages
Winner: draw

Possibility to reset the device (added 25-03-2013)
One more category added. Very often I hear that possibility to remove the battery is the only way to reset the device once it's not reacting anymore and system just hanged. This is not true. Every device have ability to reset the system using hardware keys. In most cases it's a combination of 3 buttons: power + volume up + volume down. You need to hold these buttons for about 5-20 seconds, depends on the device. Even if your device has a removable battery, it is better to use above combination to avoid breaking the plastic back cover latches.

Conclusion: you can reset your device no matter if it has removable battery or not

Winner: draw

So what's the score? Battery bank won in 5 comparisons, external battery in 1 comparison and there were also 3 draws. For me, personally, battery banks are better replacement for external batteries. It gives you bigger capacity for the same prize, extended usability and it looks better.

Do you have a different point of view or some experience with one of the approaches presented above? Please leave a comment below! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) down this post!

HTC One - GSM or LTE?

HTC One is a new flagship device from HTC for 2013. With no doubts it is a great device with top hardware and innovating software. I will make a review of One soon, so expect a lot of pictures and in-depth comparison of HTC Sense 4+ and brand new HTC Sense 5.

For now some of you might be wondering about possible variants of this device. I made some research and I think I know how would this work. It is not officially confirmed, however I believe it is quite reliable and trustworthy.

Apart of all carriers branded models (also U.S. AT&T, U.S. Verizon and U.S. Sprint), there will be GSM  and GSM + LTE variants available for most countries. Respectively M7_U for GSM and M7_UL for LTE. Now the question is - when new update will come for U, will it come for UL the same day, or maybe week later? I can't answer that, but I hope both variants will be updated at the same time.

First off all, looking at HTC One software, it's easy to spot that both U and UL variants have the same code-name "m7". Model ID (MID) will be probably slightly different. LTE variant has PN0710000, while GSM should have something like PN0711000 or PN0710001. The beginning of the code will be the same for all One variants - PN07.

Now, let's assume we speak about European version (to avoid confusion with different CIDs or MIDs). It is said that Snapdragon 600 (HTC One SoC) has LTE modem already integrated (just like S4 and S4 Pro). So logically, there shouldn't be 2 different variants of S600 (with or without LTE). And so I believe that. This means that GSM variant of HTC One will have LTE modem as well, but most probably it will be disabled. Is it possible to disable LTE modem? Sure. The fact that specific SoC has LTE modem doesn't mean it's activated.

Will it be possible to activate LTE radio in GSM model? I'm not sure yet, but I think it would. How? You'll need S-OFF device, that's obvious. Since both GSM and LTE models will have the same hardware, having S-OFF you should be able to flash M7_UL software (RUU.exe). Of course you'll have to modify your Model ID (MID) in fastboot before (fastboot oem writemid PN0710000). Is there a risk to totally brick your device? Yes! So don't try it before it is confirmed to be working.

To find any official confirmation of my research I visited Qualcomm site and went to the specification page of new Snapdragons 200, 400, 600 and 800 chipsets. Here is the picture of S600 features:

As you can see, LTE modem is indeed integrated, and so will be present in GSM models as well. Here I repeat again - it will be disabled on GSM units and it won't be possible to switch it on/off in settings just like that. Enabling LTE on such units will be either not possible at all, or it will be possible by flashing M7_UL RUU to S-OFF device. Why this does not apply to HTC One X and its LTE brother, HTC One XL? Because One X is based on quad-core nVidia Tegra 3, while One XL is powered by dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. Yes, both are running different SoCs, because Tegra 3 doesn't have LTE modem integrated.

How to recognize if HTC One is GSM or LTE version? Looking back at some HTC devices like HTC One SV (C525u) you could noticed "4G LTE" text on the back cover. I wouldn't expect similar text this time, because the back case is not removable.

Do you already own LTE version of HTC One? Consider flashing my custom ROM from this site.

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) down this post!

Negative effects of unlocked bootloader

Those who are expecting a little bit more from their HTC devices are familiar with HTC online tool to unlock the bootloader - htcdev.com. Once generated and flashed token via fastboot gives you possibility to change some of the partitions on HTC device. It sounds great, but there are some serious disadvantages of it. Some people may say this will result in limited warranty, which it is not true, and I explained that issue here. So, what else to expect with unlocked bootloader?

First of all, not all the partitions will be unlocked. Forget about flashing hboot.img, rcdata.img or tp.img. Permission to fastboot flash will be denied. The only method to flash those images is to reboot device in RUU mode (fastboot oem rebootRUU) and flash originally signed firmware.zip (from OTA update) using fastboot flash zip firmware.zip command.

So what can be flashed in fastboot mode? Basically just 3 images - boot.img, recovery.img and system.img. Is it enough to flash custom ROM? Yes. With custom recovery you can flash zips or make nandroid backup. Is it enough to be happy? No. The problematic part is flashing boot.img in custom recovery. It's not possible on S-ON devices, unless your device is supported by 4EXT Recovery with SmartFlash feature. So the only method to have complete custom ROM working, is to flash ROM in recovery and then reboot the device, enter fastboot mode and flash boot.img using fastboot flash boot boot.img command.

The second problem of unlocked bootlader is even more serious, but so far it affects only 2 devices: HTC One X+ and HTC One. Those who used htcdev.com before probably noticed, that unlocking bootloader wipes user data, including content of virtual SD card (because virtual SD card = /data/media).

This is no surprise, because every user is warned about it and have a chance to step back. As long as all applications coming with stock ROM are stored on /system partition, there are no side effects. But for some very strange reason in HTC One X+ and HTC One, some of the stock applications like Flashlight, Calculator, Ringtone-trimmer, PDF Viewer, Teeter, Sound Recorder and more, are stored on /data partition instead. Result? After unlocking bootloader with official HTC tool you end up without having some of the basic HTC applications like Calculator or Flashlight, because /data partition (as mentioned above) has been wiped. System partition on HTC One is almost 2 GB big. Not enough to include few more .apk files?

What is more, missing stock applications on /data partition makes your device not capable to receive any OTA updates from HTC. Why? Because every OTA update checks MD5 checksum of every file that originally came with your device. So even if you didn't flash any custom ROM and your /system partition is unmodified, you won't be able to install OTA update.


This is an example of updater-script part from OTA:

assert(apply_patch_check("/data/preload/Calculator.apk","85aa7b00ec97ffe7179739c8815bf102c4f8666e","7055f0376e6b56be6414fdf8495b82db7fd38564")||apply_patch_check("/data/preload/Calculator.apk.uninstall","85aa7b00ec97ffe7179739c8815bf102c4f8666e","7055f0376e6b56be6414fdf8495b82db7fd38564"));

Once assert will fail, OTA update will cancel the installation process. I think every user should be warned, that unlocking bootloader results in no longer OTA updates support.

To summarize:

1. Unlocked HTC devices via htcdev.com can't have boot.img flashed via custom recovery.
2. Unlocked HTC One X+ and HTC One via htcdev.com will loose some basic HTC applications like Flashlight or Calculator.
3. Unlocked HTC One X+ and HTC One via htcdev.com will loose possibility to receive OTA updates unless user will flash original RUU.exe, which are not officially available for customers.

Conclusion: Is it worth to buy HTC One? Yes! It is currently the best device on the market. If you are not planning to flash any custom ROM - don't unlock your bootloader. And if you want to flash custom ROM, it will probably contain missing applications anyway. This is far too great device and I believe HTCdev team will sort out above issues soon!

Got some questions or comments? Please feel free to leave them above! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) down this post!

HTC One X+ give-away winner is...

I'm happy to announce, that the winner of HTC One X+ give-away contest is...

The winner should send me a private message via Twitter within 7 days with his e-mail address. After 7 days of no contact from the winner, I'll randomly pick another winner.

Congratulations Barry!

This was the first, but not the last contest. Next time you'll probably have a chance to win brand new HTC flagship device - One. Good luck!

PS. Since some users have issues with their tweeter accounts, next give-away will be based on different rules to encourage even more people!

Unlocking bootloader or flashing custom ROM doesn't void your warranty!

Since HTC started htcdev.com with the possibility to unlock bootloader on HTC devices, I noticed that false information and beliefs are spreading around the world and more and more people think (and tell!) other users, that their warranty will be voided after unlocking particular device. This is not true!

In the past I wrote a short article on xda-developers about warranties and why, against common believes, flashing custom ROMs does not void your warranty. You can find this thread here.

Here's some information worth pointing out:

1. Warranty is a contract. In every country there are laws and regulations about warranties, however these vary from place to place and may be slightly different in your country, keep that in mind.
2. If it's a contract, then both sides have some obligations and rights. Both - rights and obligations - needs to be written in the warranty, otherwise they doesn't exist. Warranty statements must be consistent with generally applicable law.
3. As a contract, warranty can be created as the parties want, as long as it's consistent with generally applicable law.
4. To know exactly what's written in your warranty don't try to Google it - take it out of the box and READ IT. Don't trust what others say - their warranty might be different to your own.

Now, the question is - why unlocking the bootloader doesn't void the warranty? The answer is very simple. Because HTC's warranty contract doesn't state it. The only information about warranty on htcdev.com you can find is this:

So, once again:

"It is our responsibility to caution you that not all claims resulting or caused by or from the unlocking of the bootloader may be covered under warranty."

Is there any information, that unlocking bootloader voids warranty? Nope. So basically, what does it mean? Only this - if you brick your device as a result of e.g. flashing custom ROM (unlocked bootloader allows you doing that), you may have no warranty claim for that particular incident.

Two more important things to conclude:

1. If "not all claims may be covered under warranty", then (logic conversion) some claims may still be covered under warranty.
2. Even if you can't claim something under warranty because it was caused by or from the unlocking of the bootloader, that doesn't mean you have lost your warranty. You still have your warranty and you still can claim under warranty, but this warranty won't cover those particular claims caused by or from the unlocking of the bootloader.

So basically, HTC warns you, that some of the actions you might take after unlocking the bootloader may lead to a situation, when particular issue can't be covered under warranty.

Also, this information on htcdev.com doesn't expand or restrict your warranty terms. It doesn't change it at all. If warranty is given in the paper form, then as a contract the only way to change it, is a paper form too (if not stated otherwise in the warranty itself). HTC just kindly reminds you some sort of information you can conclude from the warranty itself.

Once again, if you are interested why flashing custom ROMs doesn't void warranty as well, please read this thread.

PS. I'm also wondering why Samsung users are so crazy about so called flash counter and "Triangle Away" application. They don't need it to have a valid warranty, even with a yellow triangle.

Disclaimer:

This text is just for education purpose. It's not a law itself so you can't base your claims versus a company on this. I may be wrong in many parts - feel free to write a comment under this post and I will make any necessary corrections. I don't know the laws in every country so there may be some slight differences.

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!