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NOTICE: For those experiencing Superuser issues after flashing, Flash THIS in CWM. Be sure to mount /system. (courtesy of Dwitherell)
NOTICE 2: If you are currently on Stock FF1 Firmware; Understand that by flashing this ROM & Kernel you will no longer have accurate signal bars. The FF1 Firmware has updated Modems that we are unable to replace. If this doesn't bother you, then feel free to continue reading.
So you got your hands on Verizon's 4g Stratosphere and you're ready see what you can do with it. Most people will use the phone as is, and lets be honest, for an entry level 4g device, this phone works pretty darn good. Let's face it though, you aren't here because you want to use the phone like a "Normal" consumer... You want more from your device! I don't blame you one bit.
There is information scattered all over the net on how you can get your feet wet with this device, and a lot of it can get confusing. Well what I'm going to do today is hopefully simplify the process for you, and get you up and running in no time.
DISCLAIMER: By modifying your device in any way, including but not limited to, Rooting and loading a custom ROM, you understand that your WARRANTY IS VOID. Some people, myself included, have been able to successfully return a device that wasn't working properly. HOWEVER, you understand as the user, and follower of this guide, that you may be DENIED a warranty claim if you break your device. I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR MALFUNCTIONS, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, CAUSED BY THE USE OF THIS GUIDE. If you pay attention, and follow my guide CAREFULLY, you shouldn't run into any severe problems.
STEP ONE: Preparation
The first thing to do before we get started, is to make sure you have everything you need before you begin. You wouldn't start cooking dinner if you didn't have everything out of the cupboard and ready to go would you?
The items you will need are;
- A USB cable of proper size, length, and quality.
- Not many people put thought into the cables they use for their devices. But the selection of a cable is just as important as everything else on the list. Would you cook soup in an old rusty pot? If so, I'm sure you are one of the few. Get some help, metal poisoning is serious.
- First and foremost, make sure you have a MICRO USB data cable. Some cables may only provide the power wires for charging a device. If the computer doesn't begin searching for drivers when you connect the phone, you might want to try another cable.
- Make sure you use a cable of reputable quality, if the cable or connectors feel flimsy or cheap, find another! An unstable connection to your computer could cause errors, or connection dropouts during the flashing process.
- Chances are, you will be in front of your computer during this process. Choose a cable length around 3ft long to minimize the chances of connection dropouts. Using an exceptionally long cable, may cause intermittent disconnects.
- Fully charged battery.
- Any disruption of power during this process can cause headaches for you, and force you to start from scratch. Be sure you have a sufficiently charged battery before you begin.
- Phone flashing software.
- The first piece of software you need, the the flashing tool. Personally I don't like ODIN, so we will be using Heimdall. Heimdall is a command line based software which will allow you to flash the Recovery to your phone. You can download Heimdall 1.3.1 Here.
- The second piece of software you need, the CWM Recovery. In order to prepare the phone to accept the new ROM, we need to install a custom CWM Recovery. You can download CWM 5.0.2.7 for the stratosphere from Here. <Special thanks to Knightcrusader! His CWM thread can be found Here.>
- The third piece we need, is the Kernel. The kernel is the main control software for the device. There are many options available as of this writing, but today we will be flashing the Tweakstock Kernel. You can download the Kernel Here. <Special thanks again to Knightcrusader! His tweakstock kernel thread can be found Here.>
- The fourth and final piece we need is the ROM. We will be using the Tweaked 2.2 ROM Developed by Dwitherell. You can download v2.2 updated 07/11/12 from Here. The Tweaked 2.2 thread can be found Here for any of your support needs.
- SD Card with adequate free space.
- You will need an SD card, with enough space to hold the ROM, Kernel, and have plenty of left over for a a NANDROID backup. We will be saving a backup in the event you need to restore it later. (always a good practice if you ask me!)
- A dash of Swagger. Courtesy of Dwitherell.
- Caution is always a good thing to have, but be confident in your ability to accomplish this task. You are less likely to make a mistake if you are calm, collected, and confident.
- Once you have downloaded all the software you need, Place it all on the desktop of your computer.
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- Create a Folder on your desktop and label it Heimdall Suite (NOTE: If you name it anything different, the commands you use later in this tutorial will not match up correctly)
- Open the Heimdall zip file, and drag the contents to the Heimdall Suite folder you created on your desktop.
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- Place the cwm5_recovery.bin file into your heimdall directory
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- Place the Tweakstock Kernel and the Tweaked 2.2 ROM on your SD Card
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- Put your stratosphere into download mode. Start by powering off the device. Press and hold the Vol - button as well as power. Release the pbuttons when the warning screen appears. Press Vol + to continue to download mode. Plug your phone into the computer.
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- Inside the Heimdall Directory, is a folder labeled DRIVERS. Open it and run Zadig.exe. Under the options menu, click on List all devices. In the dropdown box, select "Gadget Serial". If the arrow between boxes is green, and the Driver in the box on the right AND left say WinUSB, then you already have the proper driver installed. If the arrow is orange, then click replace driver. You may now close this window.
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Now you're ready to begin flashing to the phone. The first thing we need to do is replace the stock recovery with CWM.
- Open a command prompt. Hold the Windows key and press R. When the run dialog appears, type CMD and press OK.
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- Navigate to your heimdall directory. you can do this by typing CD Desktop, pressing enter, followed by CD Heimdall Suite and enter.
- With your device connected and in download mode, type
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Code:
<br /> heimdall detect<br />
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- The device should be detected. If it is not, try restarting your computer and double checking the driver is correct.
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- Now to flash CWM type the following and press enter.
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Code:
<br /> heimdall flash --recovery cwm5_recovery.bin<br />
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- It will only take a few moments to download, once it is completed, your phone will reboot. Power your phone down. Congratulations, you have now flashed CWM Recovery 5.0.2.7!
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Before we start replacing things, We are going to take a moment to perform a backup of your phone. At this point, your phone should be powered off. If it isn't, please power it off now.
- To boot into CWM, press and hold Vol +, Vol -, and Power. When the SAMSUNG logo appears, release Power ONLY. Continue to hold the Vol + and Vol - buttons until CWM appears.
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- Scroll down using Vol - and select backup and restore, followed by backup by using the power button. This will take a few moments. Once complete, it should return you to the main menu.
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So now that you've gotten your feet wet, and made a backup, you're ready to move on to flashing the ROM.
- First we need to mount /system so that the ROM can be written properly. To do this, scroll down and select mounts and storage. Select mount /system, if /system is properly mounted, it will change to unmount /system. Select Go Back.
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- From the main menu, select install zip from sdcard using the Power button. The first option will be highlighted. Press Power again to choose a zip from the sdcard
- Scroll down and select Tweaked2.2EI20711.zip. Select Yes to begin the install process. This will take a few moments, so sit back and relax, like a boss...
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- You are now ready to flash your Kernel. There is no need to reboot your device, REMAIN IN CWM.
Now that you've gotten this far, it's time to take the plunge and do what you came here to do!
- From the main menu, select install zip from sdcard, followed by choose zip from sdcard. If you think you've done this already, fear not friend, you have... It will be slightly different this time.
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- Like you did with selecting the ROM, Scroll down and select EI2TweakStockKernel.zip. Selecting Yes will install the kernel. Once that is complete, Select Go Back at the bottom to return to the main menu.
- From the man menu, select wipe data/factory reset. By selecting Yes, this option will wipe /data, /datadata, and /cache.
- Once completed, scroll down and select advanced, followed by wipe dalvik cache.
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- After the install has finished, reboot your device. The initial bootup of Tweaked will take a bit longer since this will be the FIRST boot. Once the device has booted, you will be brought to the Setup Wizard. Follow the instructions and enjoy your new ROM!
Dwitherell
Knightcrusader
RHCP
_Bag_
and all the other developers out there who have worked hard to bring us many more options for our phones!
Edit 1: Reorganized Steps 4 and 5 to a more logical order.
Edit 2: Fixed Link, and changed Heimdall download to 1.3.1 seeing as many recommend it over 1.3.2
Edit 3: Corrected the Heimdall zip step considering the file structure is different in 1.3.1 as opposed to 1.3.2
Edit 4: Fixed link for tweakstock kernel. Swapped around some wording left over from the first edit.
