[thacounty]

Originally Posted by ToxicToastKatz

I posted this over at Androidforums.com as well, but I value everyone's opinion/input, especially County and Esoteric for what they've given so far:

ok....this may or may not be a series of stupid questions (I hope it's the latter instead of the former):

So, I've been doing a bit of reading on rooting and flashing a custom ROM. It appears that, while there is no clear-cut winner, Fresh 1.1 seems to be a little more heavily favored as the choice to go with.

My original reason for contemplating rooting/flashing was pretty much what everyone else's is: Speed (or lack thereof, smoothness, responsiveness, etc.). I was having issues with the phone running slower than a dog and things just not working right, plus, something was keeping it awake, and thus bleeding my battery dry. I've identified the culprits of all of the problems (SMS Backup was keeping my phone awake at all times, which sucks, because that is a great app, and Lookout Mobile Security was slowing down the whole phone to a crawl) and have since deleted them from my phone. Everything seems to be running hunky-dory right now. The phone moves pretty quickly, responds pretty easily and doesn't really lag at all. However, there are a few issues I still have with the phone that I was curious to see if rooting/flashing to a custom ROM will fix.

1. For whatever reason, my WiFi will not stay connected to my work's wireless router. I don't really have that problem at home or anywhere else I can pick up WiFi, so my suspicion is that it's just the router or the strength of signal. I guess, generally, do any of the custom ROMs increase the WiFi stability (or is this just a router specific issue that is a non-issue for everyone else)?

2. Location Updating: I've noticed that while driving through different towns, I can have my phone awake on the home screen and the HTC Clock and Weather widgets will not "follow my location". I guess I don't expect it to change with every different town I cross, but there have been times where I've passed through 8 different towns, gotten to my destination, had the phone's home screen with the widgets up for a good 5 minutes and it still doesn't update. Do any of the ROMs fix any location issues?

3. GPS: I've noticed quite a few people on here post that their GPS is screwy. I've really only noticed it with Google Maps, but there are times where it places me 3 states over from where I am. Are there any improvements there?

4. Radio/Phone Signal: I don't know if it's my particular hardware, but in certain areas where I should be getting, and have gotten with different phones, a great signal, I'm getting marginal signal. Like, 1 or 2 bars. I've actually roamed quite a few times in my office building, where that has never happened with my previous Sprint phones. I live in the 2nd largest city in Illinois (besides Chicago), so it's not like I'm out in the sticks. I should have great coverage everywhere. Any improvements here?

5. Web Browser/Data Speeds: The reason I asked the above question is because I've seen a few people state that their web browsing/data transfer speeds have increased while on the EVDO signal. If this is possible, I'm thinking there may be an improvement in the phone signal as well. Regardless, are the data speeds and web browsing, in fact, speedier with custom ROMS? If so, how is that possible (I'm just more curious than anything).

6. Certain Functions not working?: I've read quite a bit on the different ROMS, and to be honest, it's a bit too much info. I'm quite confused. Would I be correct in my assumption that MoDaCo's ROM and Fresh 1.1 are non-beta ROMS? In other words, flashing to either one of those, as opposed to other beta ROMS, does not mean sacrificing standard operations? I've read that certain ROMS work, for the most part, but certain things, such as the camera or visual voicemail, don't currently work. Is everything operational w/ Fresh 1.1 and Modaco? Are all the HTC SenseUI functions (Facebook integration, Contact integration w/ texts and emails, etc) still operational?

Guys, I sincerly appreciate anyone who takes the time to read all of this and the effort to respond. I like to think of myself as quite informed on this stuff, and while I realize that this topic has been covered at length, I don't think I've seen these particular questions asked or addressed.

Again, I'm just trying to determine if rooting is for me. Right now my phone seems to be functioning very nicely and if there is no real advantage to do so over what I have, I don't want to risk screwing anything up.

My other concern, although after reading, I think it's moot, is that once 2.1 is released, I'd like to be able to update to that OTA. Based on what I've found out through research, that's nothing more than flashing back to the Stock RUU and updating through the Settings menu. My assumption is that doing this step, however, would require a complete wipe of all info/settings on the phone since you'd be going back to stock as opposed to a Nandroid backup.

Again guys/gals, thanks in advance for any info.

Originally Posted by esoteric1311

#1 - no.. that's a router/hardware related issue.

#2 - Location updating has been a culprit of diminished battery life, as it is always polling for location. with Fresh 1.1, I believe he removed it so it didn't drain the battery. The other ROMs, I don't know. I'm running TTG right now, and it updates once in awhile. Not a big thing to me, but you can always check it manually.

#3 - that's a google problem. I've had it happen to me too

#4 - again.. signal strength/reception is hardware related

#5 - I believe some of the ROMs compress some of the data to increase browsing speeds, but don't quote me on that. If you are on EVDO it will be faster than 1x. Also try Dolphin Browser for faster page loading. Remember, this is a Phone, not a computer, so it won't load that fast.

#6 - SenseUI is fully functional in all ROMs unless it is an AOSP, then its plain vanilla. Everything is fully functional, unless stated (like in 1.6 and 2.1 ROMs) or it has been removed and stated.

Just root the phone, if you don't like it than go back to stock. by rooting you can play with different ROMs until you find one you like. As long as you don't flash a different radio, you can always go back.

Originally Posted by ToxicToastKatz

thanks again!

Just to add to his post, Fresh is chosen because he literally is updating us all the time. Flipz is always checking in to make sure everything is running good. This is the best custom Rom I have ran on any phone. Can't wait for his Full Kitchen he just announced.

1. WiFi connection will not be increased from any rom. I suggest checking the router and make sure you are close enough to it or see if they will put another antenna on it to extend the service.

2. Agreed Location will not be fixed. The best thing to do here is to set it to one town and leave it because of battery issues it caused, some even had it with stock roms.

3. Google Maps is Whack, use Sprint Nav or Waze. Make sure when you turn it on that you have hit find me on map. Also make sure in settings > location > that GPS is on.

4. No radios for Sprint Hero yet. If someone says there is, they're lying.

5. Eso is right, to elaborate they have taken Ads out of browsing, so we aren't waiting for eyesores to load, it will actually say failed to load, but that's ok with me, its not an ad and its faster!

6. There is nothing Beta about Fresh 1.1. I don't know about Modaco. Fresh 1.1 is a final product, he can add more to it if he wants, but there is nothing that isn't working. You may have to uninstall and reinstall WiFi Tether, but that is it. As far as compared to stock you are losing ZERO functionality. And Eso was right about Sense UI, it is fully functional on both roms. Mod 2 and Fresh 1.1.