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Installing the FireFly Custom ROM on a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate |
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Installing the FireFly Custom ROM on a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate |
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This tutorial covers all of the steps that I used to install the FireFly custom ROM on my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate. These instructions are good for both Rogers and AT&T versions of the phone.
Disclaimer: I make no guarantees that the following instructions will work exactly as stated on your phone. I am not responsible for anything that might go wrong when you follow this guide.
These steps will probably NOT WORK with any other custom ROM or on a phone other than a Galaxy S Captivate.
Proceed at your own risk!!!
Updated: 22-Apr-2011 |
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Before I list the steps to install a new ROM, I thought it
might be useful to cover a few of the basics involved in the process so that you
can better understand what we are about to do.
We’ll begin with the concept of rooting a phone, because we need to do this in
step 1 to backup our existing apps, and then again a couple of more times.
Rooting enables us to grant superuser status to various apps. This gives the
apps permission to do anything they want, including stuff that they aren’t
supposed to be able to do. Yes, there is the potential danger of malicious apps
doing stuff you don’t want them to, but you grant this access only to
applications you personally trust, and so this isn’t really an issue.
The second issue is the way in which we install firmware on the phone. There are
two basic approaches, one of which uses your PC with a piece of software running
on it called Odin, while the other is a process that’s done solely from phone
using a special installer known as Clockwork Recovery. Flashable code comes in
two forms: as a ZIP containing countless install packages and support files; and
as a BIN file (or a TAR file that contains one or more BIN files). The ZIP file
can only be installed using Clockwork Recovery, while a BIN (or TAR) can only be
installed using Odin. We are going to use both approaches.
Next is the issue of lag, which is a problem that specifically afflicts the
Samsung Galaxy S. In a nutshell, the problem springs from poorly-conceived
procedures for writing data to Flash memory, the “hard drive” of the phone.
Because of the way Flash memory (and specifically the chip chosen for the Galaxy
S) is addressed, it’s easy to do things the WRONG WAY and end up with
excessively slow write times. Why Samsung chose to do things the way they did is
neither here nor there, because hackers have come up with much better ways to
handle this using well-tested code that is commonly used in the Linux O/S. These
approaches are collectively referred to as LAGFIX. FireFly comes with a
LAGFIX option baked right in.
Now let’s get started:
Step 1: Download FireFly
You can get a copy of the necessary file from the official download page:
http://www.phoenix-hq.com/firefly/download.html
Step 2: Root Your Phone
If you haven’t already done this, now is the time. The easiest way to root a
Captivate is to use a piece of software called Z4ROOT. You can download it
directly
from here.
The file you have just downloaded is an APK, which is an install package. In
order to install a package on your Android phone without getting it from the
Market you need to make sure you’ve allowed your phone to do this. Go to
Settings->Applications and make sure that Unknown Sources has been
checked. Now copy this APK file onto the internal or external SD card in your
phone and use any file explorer (such as My Files) to execute it (I.E. just
click on the APK file).
Once it’s installed, launch the app and follow the simple instructions to
permanently root the phone. Once complete, your phone is rooted and you can move
on to the next step.
Step 3: Backup Your Apps
The best Android backup application by far is Titanium Backup. There is a
free version of this app in the Android Market. The only catch is that it
requires a rooted phone, but we just took care of that in step 2. After you’ve
installed Titanium Backup, run it and you should be prompted to grant the app
superuser status. Agree with this and continue. Now touch the Backup/Restore tab
at the top of the screen. Next hit the menu key and choose Batch. From
the list, choose Backup All User Apps. The process will take a few
minutes to complete.
Step 4: Copy Important Data from your
internal SD Card
In the process of installing a new ROM we’re going to need to erase everything
from the phone, which will include important data you have stored on your
internal SD card, as well as the backup we just did in step 3. Plug your phone
into the USB cable and plug the USB cable into a computer. Mount the phone as a
Mass Storage device so that your SD card appears as a drive letter on your
computer. You’ve probably done this before, in which case your computer will
already have the necessary drivers, but if not you can download them from here:
Windows 64bit
Windows 32bit
The first thing we need to copy is the folder called Titanium Backup. We need to
get a copy of that put in a safe place for later recovery. In addition to that
you might also want to copy any other data that isn’t backed up with Titanium
(such as the DCIM folder, where all of your photos and videos are stored), as
well as any other folders that you might have created. If you aren’t sure, just
backup EVERYTHING. You can then restore whatever you need at a later time. You
don’t have to worry about the contents of the external SD card, because we’re
going to remove that just to be safe.
Step 5: Wipe the phone of all unnecessary
data
There are a number of ways to do this, but the most complete way involves using
a standard GSM code. Go to your phone’s dialer and type the following “phone
number”:
*2767*3855#
Confirm that this is what you want to do and the process will begin. I can’t
remember off the top of my head, but I believe this reboots your phone once
compete.
Step 6: Obtain a copy of the Stock Android
2.1 ROM
There are two ways to go about doing this. If you are on AT&T, or you don’t mind
flashing a stock AT&T ROM (it doesn’t really matter) you can take this approach:
Step 6A: For AT&T
A) Download a copy of Odin that has been specially modified to contain a stock
version of the AT&T ROM:
http://www.mediafire.com/?0w2y31maz8mdom4
B) Unzip the downloaded file.
C) On our phone, go to Settings->Applications->Development and ensure
that USB Debugging is checked. Note that you can’t do this with the USB
cable plugged in, so unplug it first.
D) Shut your phone off, and then take out the battery, the SIM card, and the
micro SD (external SD card).
E) But the battery back in, but do not turn your phone back on.
F) Start Odin3 (in other words, execute the I897UCJf6-final-OCD-REV0.exe
file that was inside the ZIP you downloaded).
G) While holding both the volume up and volume down buttons on your phone, plug
in the USB cable into your phone. This will turn your phone on and put it into
Download Mode (and if necessary, drivers will be installed on your
computer).
H) Once the drivers are installed and Odin3 sees the phone (it will say
something like com 3 connected) press the Start button on the Odin software on
your computer.
I) If after 2-3 minutes Odin3 does not see your phone, pull the battery out, put
it back in, and then repeat from step G.
Step 6B: For Rogers
However, if you are on Rogers and you’ve feel safer reflashing a stock Rogers
ROM, there is a way to do this. It differs rather substantially from the steps I
outlined above, but it’s no more difficult.
A) Download a copy of the Rogers stock Android 2.1 ROM from one of the following
locations:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19201431/Fil...%20TORONTO.zip
OR
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20958367/I89...%20TORONTO.zip
OR
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DUY2P7JI
OR
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=84SKQV0F
B) Unzip the files to a single folder on your computer’s hard drive.
C1) Download a copy of Odin3 v1.7:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1otizvpv65s3ov6
C2) Download the necessary PIT file:
Make sure you remember to extract the PIT file from this ZIP.
D) Execute this EXE and install Odin on your PC.
E) Shut your phone off, and then take out the battery, the SIM card, and the
micro SD (external SD card).
F) But the battery back in, but do not turn your phone back on.
G) While holding both the volume up and volume down buttons, plug in the USB
cable to your phone.
H) This will turn your phone on and put the phone into Download Mode (and if
necessary, drivers will be installed on your computer).
I) On your PC, open Odin3 1.7 which you installed in step D.
J) Click the button marked PDA and select the large TAR file that came in the
file you unzipped in step B.
K) Click the button marked PIT and select the s1_odin_20100512.pit file
that you downloaded in step C. It is important that you use this particular
PIT file and not any others you might have from other sources.
L) Ensure that both the Re-partition and Auto-boot checkboxes are CHECKED.
M) Press the Start button and the process will begin. Once the flash is
completed, your phone will reboot.
Follow after Step 6A or Step 6B
In either case, the reboot process will seem to take a VERY LONG TIME. This is
normal and shouldn’t be a concern. However, if the process takes longer than
about 10 minutes it means that something has locked up. Rebooting again usually
solves this, but not always. Fear not, the solution is quite simple:
Pull the battery and reinsert it. Remove the USB cable from the phone. Press and
hold the volume up, volume down, power buttons and KEEP HOLDING THEM until the
phone powers on. Now release ONLY the power button and continue to hold the two
volume buttons until a bunch of text appears on the screen.
You are now in the Recover menu, which will differ slightly depending upon
exactly which Recovery menu you get. Look for an option called Delete All User
Data. If it exists, scroll to it (using the volume down key), and then select it
using the power key. Now scroll down to Delete Cache Data and select again using
the power key. If you don’t see either of those two options, you’ll probably see
Wipe Data/Factory Reset. Scroll down to this and then press the power key.
Finally (for either version), scroll back up to Reboot System Now and press the
power key. The boot process should work fine this time.
Step 7: Copy FireFly and Z4Root.apk
onto your SD card
Plug in the USB cable and mount your phone as a mass storage device. Copy the
FireFly ZIP file that you downloaded in step 1, as well as Z4Root.apk that
you downloaded in step 2, onto the root of your internal SD card.
Step 8: Root the Stock ROM
You’ll now need to root this stock installation. Using Z4Root.apk, which we just
copied onto the SD card, just do exactly what you did in step 2.
Step 9: Install Clockwork Recovery
The easiest way to do this is to download ROM Manager from the Android
Market. Run this app and click on the first button, which should say Flash
Clockwork Recovery. A list of phone models will appear, from which select your
phone (which will be Captivate, of course). This will download the correct
version of Clockwork Recovery onto your SD card, but to actually install it we
must reboot into Recovery mode. To do this press and hold the volume up, volume
down, and power buttons, and then KEEP HOLDING THEM until the phone powers on.
Now release ONLY the power button and continue to hold the two volume buttons
until a bunch of text appears on the screen.
Scroll down (using the volume down key) to apply sdcard:update.zip and
then press the power button. If doing this brings you back to exactly the same
menu, then do this a second time. I read about this in various forums and I had
to do it twice on my own phone. Once successful a new (and longer) menu will
appear and the header should mention Clockwork Recovery.
Step 10: Install FireFly
From the Clockwork Recovery menu scroll down to install zip from sdcard
and press the power button. The next screen will probably ask you do pretty much
the same thing, so just tell it yet again that you want to download a file from
the SD card. A list of files should now appear on the screen. Scroll down to
FireFly and press the power button. The installation will begin and once it’s
complete the phone will reboot into FireFly.
Step 11: Root FireFly
Okay, it probably seems like you have to do this a lot, but this is the last
time. However, don’t use the approach we used earlier, but instead use the one
provided by FireFly. The first thing we need to do is reboot into the Recovery
screen, which on Firefly is really easy. They’ve extended the power menu to
include this option. Just press-and-hold the power button as though you were
turning the phone off, and then from the resulting menu choose Recovery.
Scroll down to Advanced SpeedMod ULK features and press the power button
to select. Now scroll down to ROOT / Install Superuser and press the
power button again. I can’t remember if this causes your phone to reboot. If it
does, allow that to happen and then return to the Recovery menu as we did above.
If the does not reboot, you can proceed directly with other options.
Step 12: Install LAGFIX
To get to the LAGFIX options you begin from the main Recovery menu and select
Advanced SpeedMod ULK features. From that menu select LAGFIX options.
Now select Enable lagfix: Convert DATA to Ext4. I don’t remember if this
immediately begins the process, but I’m fairly certain it doesn’t. If it does,
allow the process to take place (it takes quite a while) and the phone to
reboot. Then return to the Recovery menu so we can proceed with the next
conversion. If the above did not occur right away, just continue by selecting
Convert SYSTEM to Ext4/RFS. This one will definitely not start right away.
Step 13: Activate Tweaks
Now select +++Go Back+++ to return to the previous menu and select
TWEAK options. In that menu you’ll see a host of items that are tagged
either with an (R) at the end, with an (O) at the end, or with (NOT RECOMMENDED)
at the end. We are going to deal ONLY with the items containing the letter R
after them (the first 3 items). Scroll to each in turn and select them by
pressing the power button. In the white text at the bottom of the screen you’ll
see confirmations of each option you selected. If the list contains options you
don’t want, select them again and they’ll disappear from the list.
Step 14: Select Color Temperature
One of the common complaints about the Captivate is that its Super AMOLED screen
looks bluish compared to other phones. This isn’t a fault of the AMOLED display,
but rather a choice on the part of Samsung. You now have the option of tweaking
the color temperature of the screen, which I recommend you try. You can always
go back to this menu item and change it at any time.
Return from the previous menu by selecting +++Go Back+++ and then scroll
down to COLOR & BRIGHTNESS Options. From this menu I recommend that you
choose WARM Color (More Red). This will make whites on your Captivate
seem less blue and you’ll find that your phone now matches other models.
Optionally you can select Disable darkest auto-brightness level. By default
FireFly makes the darkest screen chosen by the auto-brightness mode about 30%
darker than it was in stock. I found it was too dim for my tastes, and so I
checked this option to return the screen brightness to the way it was in the
stock ROM. You can experiment with this to see what you like.
Step 15: Restore Your Apps
Now select +++Go Back+++ a couple of times to return to the main Recovery
menu and then select reboot system now. Firefly will reboot and we can proceed
with the final steps.
Once the phone has rebooted, connect the USB cable to the phone and mount it as
a mass storage device. Copy back the entire Titanium Backup folder you moved to
your computer way back in step 3. Disconnect the USB cable and go to the Android
Market to reinstall Titanium Backup. Run the program and touch the
Backup/Restore tab. Now press menu and choose Batch. From the list select
Restore missing apps with data. You’ll have to approve of the reinstallation
of each app individually, which is a bit of pest, but the process is otherwise
just a baby-sitting job. Not only will Titanium Backup restore you apps, it will
(for the most part) restore any data those apps had stored.
Step 16: Restore Sundry Files
Connect your phone to your computer as a mass storage device. Copy back the
folders that contain user data, such DCIM. If you copied EVERYTHING from your SD
card I don’t recommend copying it all back, because some of the folders contain
files that are pertinent to the current O/S. Copy back what you need and nothing
more.
Step 17: Enjoy Your New O/S
That’s it. Most things should now be back to the way you had them in the stock
ROM, though you may have to re-enter a few usernames and passwords here and
there.
