[Robtao]

I am not seeing as much activity for custom ROMs here as I would expect. Maybe we need the Mods to give us an Omnia II Upgrades sub forum. Seriously, the Omnia II is a much better phone than the stock ROM allows it to be. Even after DC23, the latest. http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=118665 With the latest custom ROM of my choice, the Omnia II is the best phone I have ever owned or used.

Check out Custom ROMs from Ninja4Hire, amdzero, and yardi4life, here or in the Modaco forums http://www.modaco.com/category/425/verizon-samsung-sch-i920-omnia-ii-cdma-rom-discussion/ . They remove bloatware which slows things down, so your phone can be a lot snappier and responsive. Plus the Operating Systems are getting faster and better with the latest builds. Also, it becomes easier to find the stuff you want when you don't have to sort through the stuff that is essentially worthless and just in the way.

Also, the phone becomes a lot more interesting when the themes are customized to something that you really like. The chefs just keep getting better and better.

I am wondering if the ROM posts would be getting more attention if people had more confidence in their ability to flash custom ROMs successfully?

This "PDA only" (no CSC) [DO NOT CHECK the Erase CSC file box] Octans method of flashing reduces the risk, so that creating a bricked phone is very unlikely. If something doesn’t work, just flash again with a different stock or custom ROM. Flashing with XP is a snap, except maybe for the driver that seems to be needed to make your PC work with the Octans loader. You can also flash back to the stock ROM if you need to return your phone to Verizon.

Again, though “FLASH AT YOUR OWN RISK” and the usual “I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU BREAK YOUR PHONE” liability disclaimers. Sorry to have to do that (cause it really isn't that hard, see post #6) but I guess something could go wrong and if it does YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. (Oh, just go ahead! Sheesh!)

Flashing with XP SP3

1. Have driver installed. (Maybe not needed?) (http://www.modaco.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=43383
2. Probably need to reboot after installation of driver. I don’t worry about this anymore ‘cause it just works.
Edit: It may be possible to flash without this driver for XP. It has been so long, most of us don't know if the driver is needed or not. Try it.
3. For most of the current ROMs, you need to apply the stock ROM update to DC23, http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=118665 which is the latest official update. Yes, it will wipe your memory and My Storage clean. So back stuff up you want to keep!!
4. Download Octans. http://www.modaco.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=48091
5. Then download the ROM of your choice from your favorite chef. Make sure it is for the Verizon i920 Omnia II.
6. Unzip it into the same folder as you put Octans.
7. Connect and sync with Active sync, then under File/Connection Setting, uncheck the box for "Allow USB Connections." (I think this isn't even needed either.)
8. Run Octans.
9. Click "PDA" in Octans, and find and select the ROM (which should be an .nb0 file.)
10. I suggest checking the boxes that say "Start Downloading immediately" and "Skip over waiting for booting completely". It just speeds things up, and keeps you from waiting for nothing.
(Then, there are methods of disconnecting and reconnecting, and turning the phone completely off, then back on, but instead...)
11. I just leave the phone connected and ON, get to the Soft Reset Screen on the phone with the Yes/No and get ready to hit Yes on the phone and Detect on the PC then I hit Yes (to start the Soft Reset), and immediately hit "Detect" in Octans. If you time this right, it makes things a lot easier.
12. About 10 minutes later, you should have a new ROM. If the ROM is built with XDA_UC, CABs placed in a folder you put in the root of your storage card named XDA_UC will be installed automatically to Main Memory. Cabs placed in a folder named SC (inside the XDA_UC folder) will start automatically, but ask where you want to install them. Soft reset is recommend after all is installed and message says you are done.
13. Don’t forget to recheck the box in ActiveSync to Allow USB connections again if you disabled this. (I have successfully flashed without disabling in the first place so try it.)

Although flashing stock ROM DC23 WILL clear your My Storage folder, after that, flashing with a Custom ROM will not do that again, so My Storage will be OK.

For another tutorial, and collection of tools, especially for Vista or Windows 7 see http://www.modaco.com/content/verizon-samsung-sch-i920-omnia-ii-cdma-rom-discussion/304107/how-i-flashed-my-omnia-vzw-i920/ from kdkinc. The Vista and Windows 7 stuff is a bit more intimidating, but should get you through.